Little Big Man
by cjh4ever
Summary: Ianto wakes up to find he has changed into a boy and goes to the Hub seeking help from Jack and the rest of the team. Set after A Day in the Death and before Something Borrowed, the story features all the main characters but mainly Ianto and Jack.
1. Chapter 1

_This story is the result of a suggestion made by Rachel (Unidentified99) and I am grateful for her helpful comments and suggestions as the writing progressed._

_Ianto wakes up and finds himself altered. _

* * *

**Little Big Man**

Chapter One

When Ianto Jones woke up and found out he was three feet six tall, he raised an eyebrow.

When he looked in the mirror and saw a four year old boy, he was concerned.

When he couldn't reach the shower controls, he was mildly worried.

When he realised he'd have to wear his niece's shorts and sweatshirt to work, he panicked.

But Ianto Jones was resilient. He closed his eyes and took calming breaths and tried to work out what had happened to him. Everything had been normal the night before when he left the Hub, he remembered that, and all he had done when he had arrived home was drink a mug of coffee. Then he had gone to bed and slept deeply, relaxed after a night of passion with Jack. So why had he changed? With a shrug of his shoulders he decided he needed help to work it out, and help lay with Jack which meant a trip to the Hub. Methodically, he stood on a chair and reached down the packet of coffee he had used the night before – Owen would need to analyse it – and put it in a carrier bag with his wallet, watch, mobile, PDA and keys. His niece, Mica, had not left a coat on her last visit, only these shorts, top and a pair of trainers, but luckily it was not raining. If Ianto walked fast he'd keep warm enough. At the front door he had to go back for a chair to stand on to reach the lock. He managed to close the door by pulling on the letterbox.

It was not far to the Hub but Ianto had reckoned without his much shorter legs and the heavy carrier bag. He tired more quickly and his arm ached from keeping the bag off the ground. How did short people manage? The walk seemed at least three times as far as usual. Another unexpected hazard was the curious looks he got from other pedestrians. Four separate women came up to him and asked if he was lost and if they could help him, which was nice of them but he did not need their help, he needed Jack. He managed to escape the women's clutches – discovering a high pitched voice at the same time - but he made sure he did not make eye-contact with anyone else on the rest of his journey. If he looked as if he knew where he was going then people wouldn't bother him he reasoned. He finally reached Roald Dahl Plass and sighed with relief as he crossed to the lift having realised that he would not be able to reach the lock on the Tourist Office door. Standing on the stone slab, he used his PDA to activate the lift and felt himself descend.

Jack Harkness heard the lift descend and quickly straightened up from Gwen's desk. He had been checking through her desk – something he did at least once a week, to her and the others – and did not want to be caught. He looked up as casually as he could, while sliding away from the desk. Then he stopped, open mouthed. A child had breached their security. He ran to the office, grabbed his Webley and ran back to the lift as it settled into its base.

"Stop right there!" He trained the Webley on the child. It did not matter to him what shape or size the intruder was, he had no hesitation about shooting to kill if necessary.

"It's me, Jack. Ianto."

"And I'm the Queen of Sheba. I said stop!" He pointed the gun at the child's head when he made to step off the stone slab.

"It is me, Jack. I woke up like this." Ianto stood with hands held away from his body to show he did not have weapon. "I need your help."

"You could be anybody," countered Jack, unwavering.

"Oh right, I forgot, every pre-schooler wants to break into this hole." Ianto unconsciously raised an eyebrow.

Jack looked at the boy, really looked at him. It was the eyebrow thing, only Ianto ever did that in just that way. Only Ianto looked at him with that mix of disbelief and awe and scorn and love. "Ianto?" he said dubiously.

"Yes, Jack. Now, may I get off the lift so we can talk about this?" He did the eyebrow thing again. When the Webley was lowered, Ianto picked up his carrier bag and half carried, half dragged it off the lift, across the Hub and up the steps to the work area.

Behind him, Jack stood irresolute for a moment then holstered the gun and followed the small boy. He took in the curly dark brown hair that touched the top of the Thomas the Tank Engine sweatshirt, the red shorts that were a little tight and the short legs ending in white and red trainers worn without socks. He stayed back as the boy that may or may not be Ianto put the carrier bag on the coffee table using both hands to lift it up. The child turned and looked at Jack before putting his hand into the bag.

"Hold it," ordered Jack, stepping forward quickly and grabbing the bag. He peered inside and checked for a gun. Then he turned it upside down and emptied the contents on the table.

"Careful," cried the boy, "you'll get coffee everywhere." Ianto meticulously righted the bag of coffee beans and placed the other items tidily on the table.

Jack moved round and sat on the sofa, pulling the boy to stand in front of him. He stared into the child's face. He noted the snub nose, the covering of freckles on nose and cheeks and the deep blue eyes. Screwing up his eyes, Jack looked hard at this face and tried to see if it was indeed Ianto. It could be but Jack could not be certain. Then he remembered something and pulled the shorts down.

"Hey!" protested Ianto, squirming.

Jack did not stop until he had uncovered the boy's right hip and saw the small birthmark that had always reminded him of a red umbrella. "It is you." Jack sat back, still staring at the child. At Ianto.

"Yes, it is. And you could have asked about the birthmark before you molested me." Ianto stepped back and put his shorts back straight. They were rather tight and pulled uncomfortably, probably because they had been designed for girls.

"What happened?"

"I don't know. I hoped you'd be able to figure it out."

Ianto kept his face down, hands fiddling with the things on the table. He had got this far by behaving logically given the circumstances in which he found himself but this was crunch time. Would Jack know what had happened? Would he be able to get him back to being an adult? Ianto really did not want to remain a child for long, or to have to spend years growing up again – it had been painful enough the first time.

"Beats me." Jack paused for a moment then smiled. "But you are one cute kid!"

"Jack!" Ianto scowled at him which only made the cherubic face more appealing. "Focus on the problem here. I am not a child. I do not want to be a child. You have to get me back to normal."

"You're right, of course you are," agreed Jack, looking serious for a moment. "Come sit down and we'll talk about it."

"Thank you." Ianto moved round the table and made to sit on the sofa but Jack picked him up and put the boy on his knee. "Jack!"

"What now? You often sit on my knee." Jack was grinning, his arms wrapped round the struggling boy. He continued to hold him until the struggles ceased. "That's better, now tell me what happened." He rested his hand on the boy's back and stroked it up and down. "You were fine when you left here."

Ianto told Jack how he had got home, drunk a cup of coffee and gone to bed only to wake up transformed into a little boy. Jack listened carefully but at the same time he was enchanted with this mini-Ianto sitting on his knee looking so serious. He also thought Ianto's Welsh accent was slightly thicker which delighted him even more.

"So I think it must have been the coffee," finished Ianto, "which is why I brought it in with me."

"Right." Jack brought his mind back to the problem. "We need Owen to analyse it, I'll call him in. He needs to look at you anyway, check you over."

"I suppose." Ianto's heart sank; he dreaded Owen's sarky comments. The doctor was still getting used to being a walking dead man and his temper was volatile to say the least. The rest of the team would also be a trial, thought Ianto. He imagined the women would fuss over him if Jack's reaction was anything to go by. Why did this have to happen?

"Hey, we'll be able to sort this out." Jack hugged the small body, still amazed that this was Ianto. "And if we can't, well, a kid working here is no stranger than a dead man." He moved Ianto from his knee – reluctantly – and stood up. "I'll go call Owen and the others. Get them all working on this." He made for his office.

Ianto stood irresolute for just a moment or two. Then he took his wallet, watch, keys and mobile and went to his desk, just able to reach the drawer to put them away safely. The PDA could stay on the table for now. His first task of a normal day was making coffee for Jack so that was what he would do now. He went to the coffee machine and immediately encountered a problem. The mugs were on the shelf on top with the coffee; he couldn't reach. Looking around, he saw an equipment box and dragged this over in front of the machine and stood on it. Now he could, just about, reach if he stood on tiptoes. The blue and white striped mug was towards the back and his finger tips brushed it but he couldn't get a proper grip. He leant forward a little more but still it was tantalising just out of his reach.

"Careful, little man," said Jack from behind him. He reached over the boy's head and got the mug easily, passing it to Ianto.

"Don't call me that!" Ianto scowled at Jack over his shoulder then turned to the coffee machine. He reached for the coffee but Jack was before him and held it out. "I can manage," said Ianto through gritted teeth.

"Sure you can," said Jack soothingly.

"Don't patronise me, Jack Harkness!" Ianto glared at him.

"I wasn't." Jack stepped back, hands held up in surrender. "Just trying to help. The others are on their way in." He put his hands in his pockets and stood watching as Ianto reached for the taps and made the coffee. He could see the boy was having problems reaching everything but he didn't offer any more help or comments. Just stayed close in case he was needed.

"I don't need an audience," Ianto complained without looking round.

"Okay. I'll be in the medical bay. May as well start analysing the coffee you brought in."

Jack walked off and Ianto breathed more easily. He didn't mean to snap at Jack but this situation was strange enough without him making it worse. Ianto carefully operated the machine, surprised at how much stiffer the taps were. When the mug was full, he carefully lifted the tray with it on using both hands and then realised he couldn't get off the box. He put the tray down and then climbed off the box before reaching for the tray once more. Even making coffee was much more complicated than when he was his proper size. He walked across the Hub, up the steps to the work area, across to the medical bay and then down the curving steps into the sunken area. He was unaware that his tongue was poking out of the side of his mouth as he made these manoeuvres.

Jack looked up when he heard the light footsteps and immediately spotted the tongue and smiled broadly: Ianto this size was just so cute. He wanted to pick him up and cuddle him. One look at the grave expression on Ianto's young face warned him off the cuddle – now was definitely not the time for displays of affection. Ianto needed to be treated as normal, though without the sex, or he may just lose his composure.

"Thanks," said Jack, taking the coffee. He sipped it, relishing the taste. "At least your … smaller stature doesn't affect the coffee. Couldn't be doing with Owen's again."

"I tried to warn you." When Owen had been confined to the base after his 'resurrection' Jack had had him making coffee, a very bad idea all round. Ianto pushed a chair across to the examination table where Jack had set up the analysis of the coffee beans. The Welshman clambered up and knelt on the seat so he could see what was happening.

They were still there ten minutes later when Owen walked in. "What's the big flap, then?" Owen dumped his leather jacket on the railing and walked down the steps into the medical bay. He stopped and did a double take when he saw a child beside Jack. "Who's this?"

"It's me," said Ianto, turning to the doctor with an impassive face.

Owen stared at the boy. "Who are you?"

"How many Welshmen work here?" An eyebrow went up before he turned back to the bench.

"Yeah but you aren't a man, are you?" Owen came nearer, still staring at the boy. Was this really Ianto?

"No, he isn't, and we need you to find out why." Jack straightened from the bench where he had been working. "Ianto went home last night, his usual gorgeous adult self, and woke up like this. Only thing he's ingested is this coffee. I've started the analysis but you need to do a workup on Ianto." He turned to the boy. "Soon as Tosh gets in, I'm going to take her and check your flat. Could have been a gas or some other atmospheric."

"I don't think there was," replied the little boy seriously, ignoring Owen's continued scrutiny.

"Still have to check. Owen, get onto this straight away." Jack bounded up the steps and was gone.

Owen eyed the boy warily and Ianto stared back at him. The two had never been friends, they were too different. "Come on then. If we've got to do this let's get on with it." Owen turned away, reaching for the latex gloves and snapping them on.

Ianto got down from the chair and looked at the examination table; it was too high for him to get onto. He pushed the chair across, climbed up again and then slid from the chair to the table. He looked triumphantly at Owen who had watched the whole process and made no attempt to help.

"Finished climbing, have we?" asked Owen, approaching the table. "You'll be trying Everest next." He deliberately moved the chair away effectively stranding Ianto. "Get your top off."

The examination proceeded in silence. Owen poked and prodded, drew blood and otherwise went about his work with no regard for bedside manner or the sensibilities of his patient. Ianto endured it, forcing his mind to other things. One of the first things he needed to do was get some different clothes. These were too small and inappropriate. While he was dressed as a child that's how he would be treated. He wondered if Jack would take him shopping when he went out with Toshiko.

"Oh look at you!" Gwen had entered the medical bay and was descending the steps. "Ianto?"

"Morning, Gwen." Ianto gave her a small smile.

"I didn't believe it when Jack told me. Ianto, how are you, sweetheart?" She was now standing beside him and had her hand on his bare back, rubbing it up and down. "You're cold. Let me help you put your top back on."

"I can manage!" said Ianto, more loudly than he had intended. He reached for the sweatshirt. "Have you finished with me?" he asked Owen as he pulled the garment over his head. He noticed Gwen's helping hand but ignored it.

"For now."

"Come and tell me what happened," said Gwen.

Seeing his difficulty in getting down, she put both hands round him and lifted him down. As soon as he was on the floor, Ianto took off up the steps. For a moment he had envisaged her carrying him! He was amazed how high the steps were. It took some effort to climb them and Gwen caught up with him easily and took his spare hand – the other was clutching the chain railing – and 'assisted' him.

"I can manage, thank you, Gwen," Ianto said stiffly, pulling on his hand but not able to get free.

"Don't be silly, these steps are high for a child."

Behind them, Ianto could hear Owen sniggering and that made him even more determined to be independent. He pulled harder and finally got his hand out of Gwen's clutches and proceeded to climb the steps. He was panting by the time he got to the top, from the effort and from indignation, and turned to Jack's office seeking assistance in shaking off Gwen's help. His boss was not there, nor was his greatcoat.

"Where's Jack?" He had meant to ask in a perfectly rational manner but his voice quavered and reflected his inner feelings at being left alone with the sarky Owen and the over-solicitous Gwen.

"He and Tosh have gone to your place. Something about an atmospheric something or other. Come and sit down." She laid a gentle hand on the boy's shoulder to guide him to the sofa.

"No. You'll be wanting coffee." He headed off determinedly to the coffee machine.

Gwen took a step to follow him then stopped. The sturdy little figure and the set way he held his shoulders reminded her of her friend Mary's son when he was trying to be grown up. He needed to try this alone. She stood between the desks and watched him in case he needed help. How had this happened? she wondered. And, more importantly, how were they going to reverse it? Ianto was standing on a box and manipulating the coffee machine that only he seemed to be able to use: she shuddered at the memory of Owen's efforts. The boy looked so cute, from the top of his curly head to his trainer clad feet. It made her long for children. She and Rhys had to find time for 'that' talk sometime soon.

Walking carefully, Ianto brought the mug of coffee and placed it on the table before going to the fridge and pouring himself some milk. Caffeine was not a good idea in his current state. He wriggled his way onto the couch holding the drink, glad he had only half filled it.

"Great coffee," said Gwen, sitting beside him. "So, how are you feeling?"

"Fine."

"You can tell me, Ianto, I'll understand." She placed a hand on his leg which was sticking out in front of him.

"I told you, I'm fine." He pointedly looked from her face to her hand and back again. She removed it. He then told her what had happened, what little he knew, in matter-of-fact tones.

"There's something in the coffee," said Owen from beside them. Neither had heard him approach and they looked round, startled. "Don't know what it is yet." He went to his desk and opened up his PC. "Oh, and that definitely is the tea-boy and he's healthy enough." He turned his back on them, typing on the keyboard.

"Well, that's good news," said Gwen jovially. "We can work out an antidote, no problem."

"Says who?" commented Owen, swinging round. "You got a degree in chemistry I don't know about? We'll probably never isolate whatever it is. Fucking hell, you don't half talk through your arse sometimes."

"That's better than being one! Can't you think about other people for once?"

"No. Got enough troubles of me own." He had turned back to his desk and said this over his shoulder.

"Oh, right. You're so busy wallowing in self pity you can't spare a thought for how Ianto's feeling."

"Small, I should think," retorted Owen with an evil chuckle.

"Make a joke of it, why don't you!?" She was on her feet and standing beside his chair. "We didn't do that when you were killed and brought back. We've been here for you, helping you all the way, supporting you!"

"Haven't noticed you doing much."

"Haven't heard me making a stupid jokes at your expense, have you!?" Her hands were on her hips and she was shaking with indignation.

"Leave me alone." Owen refused to look at her.

"Not until you've apologised to Ianto." She took hold of the back of his chair and swung him round to face the sofa – which was empty. "Where's he gone?"

"Who knows? Now get off me and let me try and find a bloody antidote." He turned the chair and continued typing, feeling better for a good argument. It was about the only thing left to him that made him feel 'alive'.

"Ianto?" Gwen was looking round for the boy, afraid he might hurt himself. "Ianto, where are you?" She ran down the steps to the lower level but could not see him. "Ianto?"

"He's in the archives," said Owen laconically. He had checked the CCTV. A rational scientific approach, he thought, rather than Gwen's touchy-feely shouting and running about.

Wondering how Ianto had managed to get down there so fast, she went through the archway and down the steps to the next level. Walking along the corridor, she headed for the desk where Ianto usually worked and sure enough, there he was. "Ianto, there was no need to run away."

"I didn't. I always spend an hour or so down here at this time." He looked up at her, a strange feeling as he was normally taller than her, and looked at her innocently.

"But …" She didn't finish the sentence. Perhaps he needed this to be like a normal day even though it was far from it for him. Pulling up a chair, she sat at the side of the desk where he was sorting papers alphabetically ready for filing. "Okay. Despite what he said, Owen's working on the analysis. And he's good, he'll come up with something, don't worry."

"I'm not."

"Is there anything you do want? Anything I can help with?"

Ianto hesitated. "I need some new clothes, these are not appropriate for work."

"They're a bit tight too. Where did you get them?" She smiled.

"Mica, my niece, left them at my place last time she visited." The girl had got soaking wet in a sudden downpour and had had to go home in one of Ianto's sweaters. "Can you call Jack, see when he'll be back? He can take me to get some new ones."

"No need to wait for him, I'll take you. We can go to Asda, they do a good range of kids' clothes." In her mind's eye, she could see the many rails and shelves full of children's clothes that she had often rifled through just for the pleasure of seeing the tiny garments. She checked her watch. "They'll be open now."

"I'd rather wait for Jack," protested Ianto. "If the stuff was in the coffee, there's nothing for him to do at my flat," he pointed out, "he can come back now."

Feeling a little hurt and very disappointed, Gwen said, "All right. I'll call him." She opened the comms. "Jack, where are you?"

"_Ianto's place. Tosh is doing a sweep of the flat, haven't found anything yet." _

Jack was standing at the open door of the wardrobe in Ianto's bedroom. He was taking the opportunity to peek into cupboards and drawers usually kept closed to him when the owner of the flat was around. He had already found a small stack of porn magazines and some well-thumbed _Rupert the Bear_ annuals hidden away in the hall cupboard. He'd be able to make a lot of that in weeks to come. From the wardrobe, he had extracted and had in his hands the shortest pair of shorts he had ever seen and a cut off T-shirt. He intended to get Ianto, the adult sized version, into them as soon as possible.

"Owen's found something in the coffee, he's analysing it now. Look, Ianto's got the all clear medically and needs some new clothes. When are you getting back?"

"_May as well carry on here, finish what we started."_ He had not checked the spare room yet. _"No need to wait for us, you and Ianto go and get him some stuff. Just make sure it's cute!" _

"Okay." Gwen cut the connection. "He says he'll be a while yet and I should take you." She smiled happily and Ianto's heart sank.

* * *

_How will Ianto survive a shopping trip with Gwen?_


	2. Chapter 2

_Gwen and Ianto are shopping …_

* * *

**Little Big Man**

Chapter Two

An hour later, Gwen was tripping round Asda's clothing aisles and cooing over the items displayed there. There was so much choice. Her only regret was that she couldn't buy some of the frilly things for girls, they were so much more colourful than the dull stuff for boys. Ianto followed her round, dragging his feet and dreading what she was finally going to suggest. He had tried, on the ride here, to get her to understand his need for something to make him feel like himself, that made the others view him no differently just because of his small size. If her current oohs and ahhs over completely unsuitable items was anything to go by, he could have saved his breath.

"Why are you looking at casual wear?" he hissed. "I told you I wanted something formal." The only items in the basket so far were a pair of black lace up shoes, socks, pyjamas and underwear. It had been a tussle between them with even these few items to buy the plain rather than the gaudy: Ianto pitied any future child of Gwen's. "The school wear is the closest they've got to what I want." He pulled on her jacket, trying to tear her away from the brightly patterned T-shirts and shorts.

"But look at this." She was holding up a T-shirt with a teddy bear on the front. "It's your size." Bending down, she held against him. "Oh, that is so cute."

"Gwen Cooper," he said in a whisper, grabbing her jacket and keeping her head close to his, "if you buy me that I will scream the place down until Social Services arrive." He fixed her with a gimlet stare.

They stayed like that for several seconds before she sighed. "All right, I'm sorry." Reluctantly, she put the T-shirt back. "More formal stuff then." She followed him to the school wear and they looked through the trousers and shirts but nothing met Ianto's exacting standards. "This is all they've got," she said finally, "surely something would do?" She had thought some of her girlfriends were fussy when buying clothes but they had nothing on Ianto!

With a deep sigh, Ianto stood looking dejected. "It's not right, Gwen. I don't wear this to work."

"Well, they don't do suits for little boys." She squatted down in front of him, reaching a hand to stroke his hair. It was a measure of his disappointment that he did not stop her. "Why is it so important? You could wear anything."

"I want … I want to be as close to normal as I can," he explained in a small voice, head down.

" 'Cos you do." Impulsively, she pulled him into a hug which he allowed for a moment before pulling away.

"These will have to do," he said, pulling himself together. He was looking at a pair of long grey trousers. "Is there a red shirt?"

"Let's look." Together they looked through the rails. "No, only white." It was then that she had a brainwave. "Ianto, I know where we can get you a suit! Let's get a couple of shirts and these trousers then I'll show you." She was grinning happily and he found himself smiling back despite himself.

They paid for the purchases and Gwen drove off, refusing to tell Ianto where they were going. After parking in a side street, she led him to a shop in the older part of town.

"A bridal shop? I don't want a wedding dress, Gwen."

"I know that. When I was looking round for my dress, I came in here. They've got just what we want." She smiled and opened the door, ushering him in. "Over here." She led the way to a small room at the back of the shop.

Ianto stopped and smiled. The room was lined with rails of suits and other outfits for pageboys. Why hadn't he thought of this? "This is better," he said with relief.

Another half an hour was spent rummaging through the rails before they decided on a dark grey suit that fitted him almost perfectly: the jacket sleeves were just a little too long but he could live with that. With the help of an assistant, they found a red shirt and a striped tie that completed the outfit. Ianto made Gwen go back to the car and get the shoes and socks they had already bought so that he could wear the suit immediately. Having careful regard for the Torchwood budget, they hired the suit for a week but had to buy the shirt and tie.

Back in the car, Ianto turned to Gwen and smiled. "Thank you for suggesting that shop. This is just what I wanted."

"My pleasure, sweetheart. You do look so cute in that, like a miniature version of normal. Jack'll love it." She started the engine and drove back to the Hub.

Jack had given up at Ianto's flat. They had swept the place, room by room, and found nothing alien. Even Jack's snooping had not unearthed anything of great significance, just a sealed box labelled 'Lisa' which even he didn't have the gall to open. But now he knew it existed he'd ask about it sometime. He and Toshiko were just getting out of the SUV when Gwen's car pulled up beside them.

"Is that you, Ianto?" asked Toshiko, looking in wonder at the small, besuited figure who clambered out of the car. "Did your clothes shrink too?"

"No," answered Gwen in pained tones, "I have just had to take him round half of Cardiff before he was satisfied with that." She may be complaining but the grin on her face showed she had not minded too much. She reached into the back for the Asda bag. "I'm never going shopping with him again."

"Hello, Tosh," said Ianto, nodding his head as he always did. It was a small acknowledgement of her Japanese heritage. He straightened his tie and pulled down his jacket before turning to face Jack.

"Let me look at you!" said Jack, his eyes alight with pleasure. Ianto stood self-consciously in front of him. "Can't see you properly down there." The taller man swooped on Ianto and lifted him up to stand on a low wall before turning him round to look at him from all sides. "Always said you looked good in a suit. Is the red shirt for me?"

"I like them too," protested Ianto. "Can I get down now?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Oooh, he's scrumptious!" clucked Toshiko, grinning at him.

"Scrumptious!" said Ianto in horror. He was so taken aback by what she had said he was oblivious of Jack picking him up and carrying him into the Hub. "I am not scrumptious!" he said over Jack's shoulder.

"Oh yes you are," said Jack in a low, suggestive whisper that made Ianto blush. In all the confusion he still hadn't realised he was being carried – he was at the correct height now and the Hub looked right for the first time that day. "Though I liked the shorts."

"They were too tight."

"I know." Jack grinned.

They were climbing the steps to the work area and Ianto suddenly realised he was not moving on his own two feet. "Put me down!" he cried, wriggling to be free.

"Okay." Jack obliged, carrying on to the medical bay where he could see Owen working. "Owen, got anything?"

"Not sure. Need a bit longer to analyse this."

"Okay, you have half an hour. Tosh, go over the CCTV round Ianto's flat yesterday until seven this morning. Gwen, check police reports etc and see if there was anything going on that may give us a clue. We'll meet in thirty minutes to pool information." He went into his office and hung up his greatcoat, missing Ianto's presence to do it for him. That reminded of the Welshman. "Ianto!"

"Sir?" The small boy appeared in the doorway.

"What are you going to do now?"

"My job."

Jack laughed. "Come on, Ianto, you're two foot tall! The Weevils would eat you not their food and you can't man the Tourist Office."

"I'm three feet six and a half inches actually." He pulled himself up to his full, reduced, height.

"Sorry." Jack held his hands up in mock-horror. "Sit down for a minute." Jack went over and closed the office door.

"Why?" The boy had not moved, he was looking at his boss suspiciously. "What are you planning?"

"Nothing. I want to talk to you, that's all. Need a hand to get on the chair?"

"No, thank you." Ianto clambered up and sat with his legs sticking out in front of him, his jacket pulled slightly askew. "So, what do you want to talk about?"

Squatting down in front of the chair, Jack looked at the boy who was Ianto and gently smiled. "How are you, Ianto? This must be strange for you." He reached a hand and ran it over the boy's hair.

"I'm fine." The Welshman smiled back at his boss and lover and put up a small hand to hold Jack's larger one. "You'll sort it out, I know you will."

"I'll do everything I can, we all will." Jack leant in and kissed the young boy lightly on the cheek. "That's a taster of things to come – when you're back to normal."

"I'll look forward to it." They shared a smile.

"Now, about doing your job, no hear me out," he said when Ianto made to interrupt. "I'm happy for you to do what you can but there's a lot you can't and you're going to have to accept that. Will you do that for me?"

With a heavy sigh and looking at his hands which were still holding one of Jack's, he said, "All right. On one condition." He stared Jack in the eye. "You don't pick me up again."

"I don't know, that's a toughie. How about I don't do it when the others are here?"

"Done." They shook on it, one small hand inside a large one, both smiling.

"Something you could get onto is that research on the sightings round Swansea. How far have you got with that?" Jack stood up and went round his desk.

"I was checking links to happenings in the past. There were one or two incidents that may be relevant." Ianto squirmed his way to the edge of the seat and jumped down. "I'll carry on."

"Good. Oh, before you do. Any chance of a coffee?"

"No, you'll have to wait until the meeting." Ianto opened the office door and walked off.

"He may be short but he hasn't changed really," murmured Jack reaching for a folder.

Ianto went to his desk and surveyed it. He'd need another box to get up and down comfortably. Looking around, he saw one that would do and started dragging it towards the desk.

"Would you like some help?" asked Toshiko quietly. She was stood to one side. "I'm not interfering, just offering." She smiled.

He thought about it and then realised that it was foolish to reject an offer so kindly made. "Yes, please, I forgot I filled this box yesterday." When I was my normal size, he added to himself.

Together, they got the box into place where Ianto could use it to get onto his chair. Toshiko did not help him, she let him climb up himself. Only when he was kneeling up with this hands on the desk did she speak again.

"I'm sorry I said that earlier. If there's anything I can do to help, let me know. I won't let on to the others."

"Thanks, Tosh. Perhaps … perhaps you could carry the drinks tray when we go to the meeting?"

Her smile of pleasure brightened her face. "I'd be honoured." With a little wave she walked back to her desk.

Turning on the PC, Ianto smiled and wondered about these colleagues of his. They had all accepted his smaller stature without a fuss and acted just as he'd expected them to: Owen making fun, Gwen trying just a bit too hard to help and Toshiko being sensitive to his dignity. Jack had passed a few risqué comments which was normal and other than their recent chat he was treating him just the same. Which reminded Ianto that he had better find something on the sightings of the zombies in Swansea or he would get told off.

Forty minutes later they were all in the Boardroom, coffees in front of them – milk for Ianto – and about to start the meeting. Jack opened the discussion. "Okay, Owen, you first. What have you got?"

"Titch here is Ianto," he began, smirking when Ianto threw him a dirty look. "He's perfectly healthy and his memories are intact, but he's shrunk. I analysed the coffee and there is a foreign substance in it. I've never seen it before and so far I haven't come up with a match in the records." He activated the plasma screen and displayed the chemical formula. "Got any ideas, Jack?"

His boss was studying the screen intently. "No," he said at last, "new one on me."

"How did it get in the coffee? Was it a new bag?" asked Gwen.

Ianto was shaking his head which was on the same level as the table: Jack and the women were having a hard time not grinning at the picture the little boy presented. "It was about half full."

"Tosh, you get anything from the CCTV?" asked Jack, sipping the coffee.

"Yes and no," she answered.

"Oh, very helpful." Owen was slouched in his chair. He had always disliked meetings but they were worse now. Sitting and watching others drink coffee drove him mad. He would love one himself, still had the memory of the smell and the taste even though he'd lost both those senses now he was dead. He just hoped no one would ask him to make it again, that had been torture.

Toshiko ignored him, as she ignored most of his rude comments. It was his way of fighting back against what using the Resurrection Glove had done to him. Anyway, she'd rather have him sullen and rude than not here at all. "There's nothing on the CCTV," she said levelly, "but there is a gap of fifteen minutes at 9.21 yesterday evening." She flicked her remote control and the plasma screen showed the CCTV covering the entrance to Ianto's flat. It was fine at 9.20 then there was nothing but static until 9.37 when it cleared and went back to normal.

"Any clue what caused it?" asked Jack.

"Not specifically, but there was a small Rift spike in the area two minutes before the CCTV cut out."

Gwen was incredulous and her voice reflected it. "The Rift? You mean something came through and specifically went for Ianto?" Her opinion of the youngest member of the team had gone up in the past few months but she did not consider him important enough to merit this kind of attention from an alien.

"So it seems." Jack looked at the boy. "You pissed anyone off lately?"

"No." Ianto was shaking his head, confused and a little alarmed. Something coming after Jack was understandable but not him. His troubled gaze met Jack's and he was relieved to see the smile there. Jack would sort this out, he said to himself, and repeated it a couple of times before he started to believe it.

"Could they have targeted Ianto to get at you, Jack?" asked Toshiko. She was blushing a little, unwilling to be more specific about the men's relationship.

"Yeah, anyone want to get rid of your fuck-buddy?" smirked Owen, saying what Toshiko had declined to.

Jack and Ianto's faces changed as they both thought of someone who could very well want to do just that. "John Hart," they said together.

"Oh, I don't think he would do that," began Toshiko who still thought the man was cute.

"What!?" exclaimed Owen. "He shot me, poisoned Gwen, chucked Jack off a roof and then tried to blow us all up and you don't think he'd try to get Ianto?" He was staring at her. "What planet are you on, Tosh?"

"But if is him, why make Ianto small?" asked Gwen, ignoring Owen. "Why not kill him?"

"Because that would make me mad." Jack could see John Hart's logic. Making Ianto a child stopped Jack fucking him which was what John wanted. He must have realised, in the few hours he had been with the team, how much Ianto meant to Jack. "No, he'd just stop Ianto and I … being together. But we're jumping to conclusions, it could be someone or something else altogether. Owen, we need an antidote to the stuff you found."

"I can try but …" Owen shrugged letting the rest go unsaid.

"You'd better do more than try. I expect you to find one." He fixed Owen with a glare that even the obnoxious doctor couldn't return. "Until he's back to normal Ianto won't be able to look after the guests downstairs. Gwen, work out a rota for the rest of us. The Tourist Office will be closed as well. Anything else?" No one spoke. "Okay, I want you all to concentrate on this. We're going to crack it, Ianto."

"Absolutely," Gwen confirmed. As the meeting broke up, she automatically pulled out Ianto's chair and lifted him down. It wasn't a conscious decision, she just did for him what she would have done for her nieces but the reaction was very different.

"Leave me alone!" Ianto shouted, pushing her away and hitting out at her arms. With the chair behind him, the table to one side and Gwen standing where she was, he was trapped. "I don't need your help!"

"What?" Gwen was startled, standing still as the small fists hit out at her. "What's the matter?"

"Titch is having a tantrum, Titch is having a tantrum," chanted Owen, grinning from his place at the door.

"Shut up, Owen! I don't think he liked being helped," said Toshiko, moving Ianto's chair so he could get away from Gwen. "You can get out now, Ianto."

Furious, red in the face and with clenched fists, Ianto ran from his place against the table where he had been blocked in by Gwen. Without thinking, he went to Jack who was still sitting at the table.

"Everyone, out," ordered Jack, rubbing a hand down Ianto's back as the boy rested against his legs. They left quickly, Gwen protesting her innocence but being pushed from the room by Toshiko. Owen's laughter lingered even after the door had shut behind them. "They've gone. May I pick you up now?"

The small head, face resting against Jack's thigh, nodded so the man took firm hold and placed Ianto on his knee, the boy's head against his chest. They stayed like this for five minutes as Ianto regained his composure. He was mad at himself for losing his temper with Gwen but it had been humiliating enough that his work had to be farmed out without her picking him up. That had been the last straw. He was also scared. This wasn't just a freak accident, he had been deliberately targeted.

"Do you think it is John Hart?" he asked in a small voice. His hand was playing with Jack's shirt buttons. Not as a prelude to intimacies as might have been the case only twenty four hours earlier, it was more absent mindedly.

"I don't know, but it is the sort of cruel trick he likes. If it is him, this won't be permanent; I wouldn't put up with that and he knows it." Jack continued to hold the small boy. "Gwen didn't mean to upset you. She was trying to help."

"I don't need her help!" Ianto sat up, his bottom lip stuck up pugnaciously.

Jack sighed, this situation was not going to be easy however long it lasted. "Maybe not right then, but you might be grateful for a helping hand soon. Don't be angry with her."

Ianto refused to look at Jack, the rational part of him understanding what he was being told but emotionally he was still enraged. "I'd better get back to work." He wriggled around preparatory to getting down.

"Could I have a cuddle first?" Jack made a little pout. "I've missed you."

The suspicious stare turned into a small smile and Ianto wrapped his arms round Jack's neck and kissed his cheek. Then, with a impish grin, he clambered down, pulled his jacket straight and walked out of the door. Jack looked after him, smiling. That was one cute kid.

Making his way back to the main work area, Ianto thought about what Jack had said and hoped he was right about John Hart's – if it was him that had done this - motives. A short time as a child could be endured but if it stretched into days, weeks or even longer … Ianto shuddered. He would not even think about it. He squared his shoulders and marched up to Gwen's desk.

"Sweetheart," she began but stopped when Ianto raised a hand, palm facing her in the age old 'stop' gesture.

"Gwen, I'm sorry I lost my temper but I did not appreciate being lifted down like that. I'd like to be able to manage on my own as much as possible. If I need your help, I'll ask for it."

"I'm sorry, Ianto. I didn't think. I do it for Cerys and Tanya all the time and I just did it automatically. Please forgive me."

"Of course. We'll say no more about it." Ianto smiled tightly then went back to his desk.

The morning continued with them all occupied in different activities. Owen worked steadily in the medical bay, muttering to himself as he attempted to work out an antidote. It was an interesting challenge and he was enjoying stretching his mind and ingenuity. He tried the substance on a couple of lab rats and they were made younger too. Leaving these to one side, for observation, he continued with his work. Gwen and Jack responded to a Rift alert and came back with a cone about a foot long and nine inches in diameter at the base; the readings from their scan had been inconclusive and Toshiko took it for analysis. They also brought back pizzas for lunch which the team ate in the work area so that Owen could carry on working and join in the chatter. That way it wasn't so obvious that he wasn't eating.

Ianto sat on the sofa and having wrapped a napkin round his neck like a bib accepted a slice of pizza. It seemed enormous in his small hands and it took a long time to eat. Normally he'd finish off a whole pizza but now he could only manage two slices which suited Jack who scoffed the rest. They were about finished when there was a beep from Jack's wrist strap which made them all go still and silent. The only time it had done that was when John Hart had first made contact. Ianto swallowed hard and looked on nervously as Jack flipped open the cover and activated the controls. A full sized hologram of John Hart appeared, standing in Owen's desk like a ghost.

"_Jack, at least I didn't get the answer phone this time." _

"Are you responsible for this?" demanded Jack, sweeping an arm to indicate Ianto sitting on the sofa.

"_Ah, now isn't that enough to make you barf? Cutesy Eye-candy." _John shuddered theatrically. _"Guess you won't be getting any today." _

"What did you use? I want the antidote."

"_Oh, it's nothing permanent, at least I don't think it is. Just something I picked up on Optilia Minor. Remember Optilia Minor, Jack? The dancing mermaids and the - "_

Jack cut across him. "What did you use!?" he asked more forcefully, gritting his teeth.

"_You are __definitely__ not getting any. Always get tetchy when you have to go without for a day or two." _The holographic John raised a hand to forestall another interruption from Jack. _"Happy Quiztalia,"_ he said, grinning and then the hologram faded out of existence.

"Bloody man," exclaimed Gwen, waving an arm through the place where the hologram had been.

"What's quiz-whatever?" asked Ianto in a small voice. His worst fears had been realised, this was John Hart's doing.

"A stupid festival on John's home world. Everyone plays tricks on other people," replied Jack.

"Like Halloween?" asked Toshiko from her place at her desk. Her scans had not picked up anything from John's appearance among them and she was running the CCTV record in a loop to see if there was anything else she could discern from his visit.

"But more vicious, it's adults who play this one." He rubbed his chin, lost in thought. It had been a long time since he had even thought about the festival but he was pretty sure it was linked to sex in some way. Which would also account for John's interest, he hadn't been sent to sex rehab for nothing.

"Does it help us?" This came from Owen who was standing in the archway to the medical bay.

Jack shook his head. "No, although all Quiztalia tricks have to be put right at the end of the day."

"So Ianto'll be back to normal tomorrow," said Gwen brightly. Then she saw Jack's face. "He will be, won't he, Jack?"

"The days on John's home world are a bit longer than here."

"How long?" asked Ianto, staring up at Jack and not liking the worried look.

"About three of ours." Jack put a hand on Ianto's shoulder. "It may not be over today but it won't be too much longer, Ianto, I promise."

The boy nodded but was not reassured. He may have only met John Hart once but he knew enough not to trust him. Jack was placing a lot of faith in his ex-partner not wanting to do Ianto any permanent damage but Ianto himself could not be so sanguine.

* * *

_Next time, Ianto has an adventure …_


	3. Chapter 3

_Ianto has an adventure …_

* * *

**Little Big Man**

Chapter Three

By the middle of the afternoon, there was no more Owen could do on the antidote until experiment results came through so he joined Toshiko looking at the cone shaped artefact Jack and Gwen had brought in that morning. Initial analysis identified it as Dregippwil, a race that Torchwood knew little about but whose artefacts came through the Rift from time to time. All the items incorporated 'dirty' technology and once the scans were complete, the two of them made for the special containment area in the archives.

Ianto watched them go, looking after them a little wistfully. That was his job, another he couldn't do because he was too small. It was so frustrating to see other people being let loose on his jobs. He tapped a message into his on-screen calendar to check up on the artefact when he was full size - they were bound to have put it in the wrong place – then went back to preparing the report on the Swansea sightings which didn't look to be anything for them after all.

"_Jack. Can you get down here?" _

Toshiko's message was relayed through the comms and everyone heard it and recognised the urgency in her tone. Jack shot out of his office, Webley in hand and Gwen got up from her PC to follow him. Ianto climbed down and ran after them, taking care on the steps.

"What is it?" asked Jack over the comms, nearing the containment area. He rounded the corner at a run and stopped, his gun arm falling to his side. Gwen barrelled into him and Ianto came up behind them, puffing hard.

"What's happened?" asked Ianto in his piping treble.

"Look, it wasn't my fault," said Owen immediately, hands held away from his side. "It was an accident."

"Owen dropped the cone. It's fallen down the drain." Toshiko was ignoring the doctor, looking up at Jack from her place kneeling beside the open drain. "I can see it but I can't reach it."

"What was it doing open?" demanded Ianto, standing with hands on hips looking at them. "I always keep it closed."

"That may be my fault," admitted Gwen slowly. "I opened it when I was sluicing the cells out, to get rid of the waste. I may not have closed it again."

"What!?"

"All right, Ianto, that's enough. We can go into the mechanics of how it got there later. Right now we have to recover it before it gets into the Bay." Jack was on his knees beside Toshiko, peering into the hole.

By the light of the torch Toshiko was shining down into the murk, he could see the cone resting on a tiny ledge about three metres down, it was wedged across the drain which was a metre square. Jack lay down and reached an arm in, knowing he couldn't reach it but trying anyway. He couldn't even get his head and shoulders in without getting stuck.

"Ianto, what have we got that would go down here?" Jack asked, from his prone position.

"The clamps? Those that we use for feeding the Hista fish."

"Get them. Gwen, go with him." Jack looked back down the drain trying to remember where it led. "Tosh, this drains into the Bay, doesn't it?"

"I think so. I'll need to check." She stood up and went back to the main level of the Hub and her PC.

On the level below her, Gwen and Ianto returned with the clamps. "Here," said Gwen, holding out the awkwardly shaped instrument: she always thought of them as two enormous spoons welded together.

"_Jack?"_ came Toshiko's voice over the comms. _"It has two outlets. One into the Bay and one into an old part of the main sewer system."_

"Great!" murmured Jack, manipulating the clamps. "Hold it steady, Owen." The doctor was crouched down shining the torch into the drain.

"You have to watch the controls, Jack," said Ianto, watching anxiously. "They're very sensitive. Take it slowly."

"_What's happening?"_ asked Toshiko.

"I'm trying to get the clamps in but they're damned awkward," answered Jack, concentrating hard. "Get a fix on the cone and be ready to track it, just in case." He followed Owen's directions until the clamps were just above the nose of the cone. "Okay," he breathed and opened the mouth of the 'spoons'.

"No!" shouted Owen but too late. The clamps opened and knocked into the cone and it dropped off its precarious perch. "It's gone down further."

Jack hastily pulled the clamps out and peered down into the drain. "Where is it?" Owen moved the light around but the murk was impenetrable. "Tosh, have you got that fix on it?"

"_It dropped another two point nine metres. That's still above the place where the drain bisects. Why did it fall?" _She had tried getting CCTV up but that corridor was not well lit and the rest of the team had blocked her view.

"Harkness knocked it," supplied Owen. He had finally found the cone with the torchlight but the light barely reached it.

"Well it you hadn't dropped it in the first place, we wouldn't be in this mess," said Gwen.

"And who left the drain open!?" Owen retorted.

"_Can you try again?"_ asked Toshiko, stopping the argument.

"No, it's too far down. The clamps won't reach." Jack stood, arms across his chest as he wracked his brains for a way to get the cone back. They couldn't let it get into the Bay or the sewage system, the pollution would be widespread and catastrophic if – when - the cone broke open. "Anyone got any idea how we can get it out?" he asked.

There was a short silence then Owen spoke. "I've got one - but I don't think you'll like it." They all looked at him and then followed his gaze to Ianto who stared back at them uncomprehending. "He's small enough to get in there."

"No! No, Jack, no! I will not go down there!" Ianto was adamant, even stamped his foot once or twice.

"We've got a harness that would fit him," said Owen, on his feet now and ignoring Ianto's protests. "This beam would hold his weight," he bashed the one crossing the roof of the corridor. "We drop him in, he grabs the cone and we pull him out. Easy-peasy."

"I am not going to do it!"

Jack looked at Owen and then at Gwen, they were both nodding, encouraging him to do this. Then he looked at Ianto and saw the pleading face and anxious look There was no other option, Jack had to do this but he hated having to persuade Ianto. "Ianto, we really need you -"

"NO!" Ianto turned on his heels and ran.

His flight was unexpected and the others did not react immediately. It was Jack who moved first. "You two, get it rigged up. I'll talk to Ianto. Tosh, keep an eye on the cone. And tell me where Ianto is." He knew Ianto would be able to hear the exchange and hoped it might help him calm down.

There was a long pause as Toshiko considered whether to tell him or not. Ianto was her friend – but Jack was her leader. _"He's on the next level down, running down corridor B5." _

The boxes loomed on Jack's left as he walked down the corridor throwing strange shaped shadows onto the opposite wall. Jack wasn't hurrying, he was walking slowly, hands in his pockets. He had a good idea where Ianto was hiding. Stopping at the entrance to the cubby hole he waited. In the silence he could hear Ianto's light breathing.

"Please don't make me, Jack," came a small voice.

The pain in the voice pierced Jack to the quick. He took another step closer and sat crossed legged on the floor. He could just make out the small shape of Ianto crouched in a corner, his head resting on folded arms across his raised knees. "If you really don't want to do it, I won't make you."

Ianto raised his head and looked across at his boss and lover. The man was lit from above and he was smiling, the small smile that he reserved for private times with Ianto. "You mean it?"

"Yes."

"But then … then the cone will fall."

"Probably."

"It'll kill all the wildlife in the Bay. Or people."

"Probably," Jack repeated.

"You can't let that happen."

"I don't have any other option."

Ianto looked down at his crossed arms and bit his lip before looking back at Jack. "It's filthy in that drain."

"I know." Jack stayed still watching Ianto. The Welshman's conscience would persuade him to do this far better than any arguments Jack could put forward. "I promise you a long, hot shower afterwards. With me." He grinned.

"Doesn't mean the same when I'm this size," said Ianto dryly.

"What does size matter?"

"Jack!"

They stayed quiet for a few minutes. "So, will you do it?" asked Jack eventually.

"I suppose." Ianto sighed heavily and pushed himself to his feet.

"Thank you." Jack reached out and put both hands around Ianto's waist and gently pulled him into a hug.

It was thirty minutes before they were ready to drop Ianto into the drain. In that time, Owen and Gwen had rigged the harness and a winch to let him down, testing it with a pipe of roughly the same weight. Toshiko transferred her files to a PDA and was back in the corridor, monitoring the cone and with a diagram of the drainage system. Jack had taken Ianto to his office and helped the boy change into the old clothes he had worn into work that morning: there was no need for his new clothes to get dirty. Hand in hand, Jack and Ianto walked up the corridor.

"Step in here, sweetheart," said Gwen, smiling encouragement. She sympathised with Ianto, there was no way she would want to go down that drain either. Holding out the harness, she fastened the straps round his legs, shoulders and chest making sure they were tight. "This is the emergency release, in case you need it," she explained, pointing to a large green button.

"Okay." Ianto glanced up at the chain which was secured round the beam and then into a winch at the side. He took a deep breath.

"We couldn't find a hard hat small enough," Gwen went on, "so we've come up with this instead." She showed the boy a headband with a light on it. "It'll show you where you're going."

"I'm not sure I want to know."

She laughed lightly, securing the headband so the light was on his forehead. "There, all set."

"Everyone ready?" asked Jack, standing by Owen. They nodded. "Okay, let's get this show on the road."

The winch took up the slack and Ianto was lifted gently off his feet and hovered a few centimetres above the floor. Jack took hold of him and gently guided him over the drain and then the winch lowered him in. Ianto twisted round to look at Jack and their gazes stayed locked as the small boy disappeared down the drain.

"Can you hear me, Ianto?" asked Jack, kneeling beside the opening.

"Yes." Ianto's voice floated up to them, echoing in the confined space. "It's very dark and very smelly down here."

Jack chuckled. "Quicker we get this done the quicker we can get you out and into that shower."

"Umm." He did not sound convinced. "How much further?" asked Ianto and Jack looked up at Toshiko who was studying the PDA.

"Another three metres. Owen, be careful with the winch," she warned.

"I am. Gawd, what do you take me for?" He glared at her and then round at the rest of them, his finger on the 'down' button of the winch.

"You should be getting close, sweetheart," called Gwen. "Can you see anything?"

"No. Hang on," Ianto looked down so that the light on his forehead shone down the shaft. "I see it," he shouted back. He watched as the cone drew nearer. When his feet were hanging just centimetres above it, the winch shuddered to a halt. "What's happening!?" he cried in alarm.

"The winch has got stuck. Jack's sorting it out," replied Gwen.

"I can manage, Harkness," protested Owen, working the winch controls.

"Let me, I've got two good hands." Jack reached for the controls but Owen refused to let them go. "Stop being such a child!" Jack exclaimed.

At that moment the winch whirled back into life and a metre of cable was released much too fast. Jack grabbed for the cable, cutting his hands badly in his attempt to slow its progress, but could not stop it completely. There was a shriek from inside the drain and various thuds and clatters. More cable got loose and Jack had to let go as it spooled down the drain.

"Ianto! Ianto!" screamed Gwen. "Answer me, Ianto!"

Jack joined her at the drain opening, ignoring his torn and lacerated hands. "Where is he!? Ianto!"

Still standing to one side, Toshiko was working the PDA. "He's fallen down the drain," she said confirming what they all knew. "He's gone down the section that leads into the sewers."

"The cone?" asked Jack, staring down into the darkness.

"Gone the same way."

-ooOoo-

Falling and bumping down the drain, Ianto had had the foresight to grab the cone on the way down. Clutching it to his chest in both arms, he closed his eyes and let himself be taken wherever the drain led. He felt the bumps as he collided with slimy brick and metal and his elbows were scraped when he passed through a duct-like opening that took him off to the right. His ride came to a sudden halt when the harness jerked painfully and he was left hanging in the darkness. For several minutes to just hung there, catching his breath then, cautiously, he opened his eyes and looked around. He was in a metal lined drain that smelt even worse than it had above. He looked down and saw blackness beneath him, looking up he saw the same.

"Jack!" he called, waiting for a reply. "Jack! Gwen!" he yelled, louder this time. He strained his ears but heard nothing. Swallowing down his fear – he had never liked confined spaces much – he yelled once more. "Jack! Gwen! Anyone!" He remembered his comms and managed to get a hand to his earpiece and tried to raise the team but only got static. "Fuck!" he said finally.

He waited for what seemed like a long time, hoping that the cable would start to move and take him back to the surface. But nothing happened. He did not have a watch, not that he'd have been able to see it anyway, and that made him wonder how long the battery in the lamp would last. Hanging here was bad enough when there was some illumination, hanging in the dark would be intolerable. When nothing had happened for what he thought was ten minutes, he decided he was on his own and had to get himself out of the mess Owen and Jack had got him in. Thoughts of the bollocking he would give them heartened him and strengthened his resolve. With a final deep breath, he pressed the release catch on the harness and fell on down the drain.

-ooOoo-

"I've got it," said Owen finally. He manipulated the controls and the winch purred into life and began retracting the cable.

"About time."

Jack was standing beside the drain, unable to do anything until his torn hands healed: he could not feel or move his fingers. He watched the cable inch its way up out of the drain. It had been nearly fifteen minutes since Ianto had shrieked and fallen. They had not been able to raise him on the comms and Toshiko's tracker had blinked out when the boy and cone had entered a deeper part of the drainage system.

"He'll be all right," soothed Gwen. "You know Ianto, calm in a crisis."

"I should not have sent him down there," muttered Jack, banging a fist repeatedly against his leg regardless of the additional damage he was doing to his hand. "I persuaded him."

"There was nothing else you could do."

"I should have found another way."

"I'm getting a reading," said Toshiko, eyes fixed on the PDA. "It's come out of the deepest part."

"It? What do you mean 'it'?" demanded Jack, turning to face her.

She faced him, her expression concerned. "It's just the cable. There's no sign of Ianto or the cone."

He stared at her and then at the cable which soon showed the truth of her words. The harness appeared but it was empty. "Oh my God," whispered Jack.

-ooOoo-

When he had been young, Ianto had gone on an old-fashioned helter-skelter ride at Barry Island and loved it. He had also been on rides at water amusement parks, travelling through tubes to land in a swimming pool, and loved those. This ride, through a dank and smelly drain, was his worst nightmare. He clutched the cone to his chest and fell many metres until, with a thud, he landed in something soft. Lying where he was to catch his breath, and praying the lamp would continue to shine, he looked up at domed brickwork much like that in some parts of the Hub. He set the cone to one side and levered himself upright, standing on unsteady feet with one hand on the wall of what looked like a tunnel.

When his breathing had settled, he took stock of his surroundings and realised it was not a tunnel, it was the Cardiff sewers but, luckily for him, an abandoned part that was dry and free of any … waste. He had landed in accumulated leaves and other dried matter, the origin of which he did not care to consider. The smell was still unpleasant and Ianto wrinkled his nose. He put his hand to his ear to try his comms but the earpiece was not there. Frantic, he looked around but realised very soon the futility of trying to find the small thing in such a huge space. He was really on his own now. Picking up the cone, he looked right then left. Deciding that it was marginally lighter to the left and less smelly, he began walking that way.

-ooOoo-

"Tosh, we know Ianto was in the old sewers. Where would that have taken him?" asked Gwen.

"Umm, it ran off to the south west, originally serving the docks and warehouses around the Bay." Toshiko was tapping at her keys. "The main sewer was joined by three outlets. There are no manhole covers left," she continued, forehead creased in concentration, "they've all been built over and the ends of all three outlets were blocked off when they were bypassed by the new system."

"Fine. Jack, you, me and Owen take an outlet each and check it. Ianto's not stupid, he'll be trying to find his way out. We just need to be at the end of the outlet and wait for him." Gwen grinned at them all, pleased to be taking action. "Tosh, stay here and guide us in."

"You're assuming that Ianto can get out," pointed out Owen. "He could be hurt."

"There's no need to assume the worse!" retorted Gwen, glaring at the doctor. "Whatever, we're going to need to be at those outlets. If he doesn't come to us, we go in."

"She's right. Let's do it." Jack was grim as he walked off back up the main level of the Hub. His hands were still numb but he did not notice. All his attention was on getting to Ianto.

-ooOoo-

The tunnel went on for miles, or so Ianto thought as he trudged along. His legs were aching and one knee was starting to hurt from a knock it had received on his impromptu journey through the drain. He was filthy and he was pretty sure he smelt as bad as his surroundings. So far he had not encountered any rats but he had heard them skittering about in the darkness beyond the small pool of light given off by the lamp on his forehead. In his arms he still held the cone which was awkward and heavy. This was such a stupid mess to be in. Why did he have to be this size? How had he let Jack persuade him to go along with Owen's crazy scheme? Would he ever get out of this horrible place?

With a sigh, he stopped and lowered the cone to the ground and rested. The tunnel was not straight, it curved slightly to the left, and was about two metres high. It was also not level which had surprised him at first. He had been climbing steadily and it took a while for him to realise that the sewer had been designed that way to allow gravity to take away the wastes. Ianto was walking on a raised platform that ran along one side of the tunnel, grateful for his short stature as it allowed him to walk upright. He turned off his lamp to check for other light sources. This was the fourth time he had done this and like on the three other occasions he was in a flurry of anxiety in case the lamp did not come on again. Allowing his eyes to adjust to the darkness, Ianto was pleased to see a definite lightening of the gloom in the direction he was walking; there had to be an opening up ahead. Crossing his fingers, he switched the lamp back on and sighed with relief when it shone again, illuminating his way. Picking up the cone, he hefted it into as comfortable a position as he could find and started walking once more.

His sense of time was hazy but he thought it was another twenty minutes of walking, with one more rest stop, before he saw the light at the end of the tunnel. There was a small circle of brightness that grew larger as he drew nearer. He started to run, relieved to see natural daylight. The final hundred metres or so was choked with brambles and other vegetation but Ianto did not care, he pushed through it as best he could reaching a clearer patch with signs of occupation. This puzzled him but he was too relieved to work it out. He trotted over to the rotting corrugated metal covering that partially covered the entrance and slipped through a large hole – straight into a welcoming party.

-ooOoo-

Toshiko sat at her desk doing what she did best.

She had the CCTV feeds from the nearest cameras to the three outlets on the top row of screens. None of them gave her a clear view but she checked them from time to time for any sign of activity. On another screen she had a map of the city which showed three moving dots, one for each of her colleagues: Gwen had taken her car and was heading for the Windsor Quay area; Owen had just parked the SUV and was walking along by the River Taff near Clarence Road; Jack was on foot, walking fast past the St David's Hotel and onto the wasteland that was earmarked for future development. The centre screen at eye level had a map of the drainage system pieced together from old Council blueprints and other sources, Toshiko could now switch between the original system from the 1890s through the various changes made up until the present day into one amalgamated version that looked similar to the London Underground map. The final screen in the lower bank was scrolling through police reports.

"Gwen, I've sent the location of the outlet to your mobile," she said into the comms. She had seen that the dot representing Gwen was stationary in a community centre car park.

"_Okay, got it. Heading out now,"_ Gwen replied. She set off at a jog, eyes flicking from the mobile in her hand to the buildings and roads around her.

"_I can't find this outlet,"_ complained Owen. He was tramping through waist high grass and lumps of concrete interspersed with drifts of fast food packaging and cans. It was hard going when he knew he had to be careful. One false move and he could fall and cut himself or, worse yet, he could break a bone. In his dead state none of these would heal.

Toshiko turned to her CCTV and saw Owen. "You're twenty metres away. It's beyond the advertising hoarding," she told him.

"_Okay, thanks,"_ he acknowledged.

Running her eyes over the screens again, she saw a tiny Jack appear at the lower corner of 'his' screen. She smiled, there was no mistaking him. The flowing lines of the greatcoat, his broad shoulders and confident stance made him stand out from any crowd. His destination was the one she had least coverage of despite it being the nearest. Development of the site had been put on hold when the planning application for flats had been turned down; the developers saw no need to protect a derelict piece of ground.

A beeping sound drew her attention to the bottom right screen and the police reports. She read the words, then read them again before opening the comms.

"Jack, we have a problem."

* * *

_What is the problem? How does it affect Ianto?_

_Just wanted to say a big thank you to all of you who have reviewed and put this story on alert. I appreciate it - Jay._


	4. Chapter 4

_What is happening to Ianto?_

* * *

**Little Big Man**

Chapter Four

"Come on, sonny, just tell me your name."

Ianto stood mute, transfixed by the large – to him – figure in front of him. He had come dashing out of the tunnel, heart soaring at the thought of being free of that dank and miserable place, only to run into the arms – well, legs if one was being accurate – of a policeman.

"Come on, what's your name?" Brian Jackson was getting angry now, the child had appeared from the blocked up tunnel, run into him and got his newly cleaned uniform dirty and now just stood there saying nothing. "God, you smell!" He wrinkled up his nose as a waft of sewer smell came off Ianto.

"Maybe he doesn't know his name," said a WPC coming over to see what the problem was. "Is that it, love? My name's Jean. What does mummy call you?" She squatted down in front of him smiling in reassurance. The friendly attitude was rather undermined by the florescent jacket over the Kevlar vest and the other accoutrements of modern policing.

"Ianto."

The few minutes respite when he had been struck dumb could work to his advantage, thought Ianto. He looked like a four year old so he may as well act like one. His eyes wandered round the scene before him, trying to look confused yet curious as he had seen David, his nephew, look. There were three police cars and a van drawn up higgledy-piggledy on the wasteland where he had emerged and their occupants, eight burly policemen and this one policewoman, were handcuffing some shifty looking characters. What had he stumbled into? Then he caught sight of a white overalled forensics specialist sifting through items on the ground: syringes and small packets of a white substance. He had stumbled into a drugs raid. Fuck! This was not good. He checked the policemen again, looking at faces this time, but the hoped for familiar features of Andy Davidson were missing. He realised the policewoman, Jean, was talking again and he turned his attention back to her.

"So, Ianto it is then. Do you know your other name?"

He shook his head. If he told them 'Jones' they would quickly find out that the only Ianto Jones living in Cardiff was twenty six years old and working for the Government. Actually, he was the only Ianto Jones in South Wales - he had checked in an idle moment - which made him both sad and proud at the same time.

"Okay then," said Jean, "what are you doing here? And what's this?" She was reaching for the cone.

"It's mine," he declared taking a step backwards. "I want my dad." It was the only thing he could think of to say. He could see and hear the policeman on his radio reporting the discovery of a boy of approximately four years of age. Hopefully the team had realised he was no longer hanging in the drain – where they had left him, he added to himself angrily – and were out looking for him. Toshiko would be monitoring the police reports surely?

"Let me have a look at your treasure first," said Jean. She reached out and caught his arms, bringing him to stand before her where she was now kneeling. "Let go," she ordered but Ianto held onto it.

"No. It belongs to my dad. You mustn't touch it."

Jean Price sighed. Kids could be difficult with items they found, wanting to play with the most dangerous things imaginable. She had responded to a house where a child had got hold of his grandfather's war souvenir, a supposedly dud grenade, and ended up blowing his arm off. The thing this boy was holding could well be in the same category and if it was she did not want to create a situation where it went off injuring them both.

"Okay, I won't touch. What were you doing in the tunnel?" She had taken in his dirty and torn clothes and the light strapped to his head. Absently, she reached up and removed the latter – he didn't need it any more.

This made him think hard. How the heck was he supposed to explain? Then he smiled. "My dad lost it and sent me in to get it. But I fell." When in doubt tell the truth, well, most of it. "Please call him. His number is 07700 900578."

"Brian, you get that?" Jean looked up at her partner who was trying to remove some of the muck from his trousers. "Get Control to call the lad's father. What's daddy's name, Ianto?"

"Dad." Ianto decided to have just a little bit of fun now. It was quite exhilarating to be a child again and have no requirement to understand or cooperate.

"No, what does mummy call him?"

"A pillock." Oh, this is fun! thought Ianto, smiling inwardly but keeping his face straight. It was certainly what he wanted to call Jack at this moment.

Jean laughed at this. "I bet she does. But does Dad have a name, like Brian or Jean or Ianto? That kind of a name."

"Ianto!" The shout seemed to reverberate around the area and all heads turned to see the running figure of Jack Harkness, coat billowing out behind him as he headed for the boy. "Ianto!" he cried again, a grin splitting his face at seeing his colleague safe and seemingly well.

Ianto broke away from the policewoman and ran towards Jack. His progress was impeded by the cone but he hung on to it. He had been sent down the god-awful drain to retrieve it and he was not going to leave it now.

"Dad!" he called, remembering his subterfuge and wanting to warn Jack.

The two met and Jack scooped up the boy, cone and all, and swung him round in a circle, laughing wildly. Ianto was smiling broadly too and he was happy to be crushed in Jack's arms and to rest his head on the man's shoulder.

"Excuse me, sir," said Jean walking up to the pair when they had quietened down. "Is this your son?"

Jack looked at her then at Ianto, a mischievous smile on his lips that his colleague knew so well. "That's right. I am so sorry he interrupted your raid. I'll just take him home now. He needs a shower."

"It's not quite as simple as that, sir," Jean replied, putting her hands on her equipment belt in an attempt to intimidate Jack. "I'll need to see some identification."

Running footsteps sounded behind them and Gwen appeared out of the gathering gloom from the opposite direction to the one Jack had come from. She joined her colleagues and they indulged in a group hug.

"And who are you?" asked Jean considering things were getting more and more out of her control.

"It's me, Jean, Gwen Cooper." Gwen turned and smiled at the policewoman. They had worked together on a prostitution ring operation for a few months and had got to know one another well. "I can vouch for these two."

"Gwen? I thought you were with Special Ops now?" Jean was confused and had lost her intimidating pose.

"That's right, still there. Jack here's my boss and this is his … little helper," she added, biting her tongue to stop laughing. "Looks like you got a good haul today," she continued, gesturing to the drug dealers who were being loaded into the police van. "We'll get out of your hair." Gwen slipped her arm through Jack's and tugged him along back the way she had come. They may as well go back to the Hub in her car.

"Oh, all right, I suppose," agreed Jean slowly as they moved past her. She thought there was something going on here that she was not privy to but she had enough paperwork to do with these drug dealers – did she really want more? The child had been reunited with his father and seemed happy about it. Besides, Gwen was a good copper. She turned back to the raid.

"Well done, Gwen," smiled Jack as they walked along. He was still carrying Ianto who didn't mind – the long walk through the tunnel had tired him out. Jack handed the cone over to Gwen who carried it gingerly. "Toshiko," said Jack opening the comms, "retrieval operation successfully completed. We'll be back in twenty minutes."

"Okay. Well done." Toshiko was smiling as she made sure Owen had heard the message and started to close down her screens.

-ooOoo-

The returning team entered the Hub together, Owen having waited for his colleagues in the garage. Ianto was walking now and beaming from ear to ear. He was relieved to be back with his friends despite what they had done to him. He had made Gwen and Jack laugh when he told them of his encounter with the forces of law and order. The drive back had not taken long and Ianto was surprised he had walked such a short distance, it had seemed much further.

"Ianto, are you okay?" asked Toshiko, swinging round in her chair and smiling at him.

"Yes, thanks. Other than being filthy." He held his arms away from him and looked down at his grimy self.

"You also pong," added Gwen walking past him. "I'll have to air out my car." She was smiling as she dumped the cone and her bag on the coffee table and took off her jacket.

"Hah!" said Owen and everyone looked at him in surprise. "One good thing about being dead," he explained, "no sense of smell." He grinned and wandered off to the medical bay to see how his experiments were progressing.

"Time for that shower," announced Jack, going into his office and awkwardly hanging up his coat. His hands were beginning to heal but the damage had been deep and the feeling was only just starting to return to his fingers. At least they no longer felt like blocks of wood.

"Do you want me to do that?" offered Gwen. "Owen ought to look at your hands."

"I'm fine. Come on then." Jack gestured for Ianto to lead the way to the washroom.

Ianto came up to him slowly and took one Jack's hands, turning it over to see what Gwen had been talking about. They had not yet discussed what had happened at the Hub and why he – Ianto – had been left to dangle in the drain. Jack had said they'd have a debriefing session over supper. Ianto stared at the palms of Jack's hands. They were still raw in places and there were deep lacerations only just beginning to heal. Ianto looked up into Jack's face.

"How did you do this?"

"I'll tell you later. First, let's get you cleaned up." Jack was grateful when Ianto let the matter drop but the expression on the little boy's face told him that he had only delayed the inevitable.

"Don't forget his clothes," said Toshiko.

"Right, thanks." Jack went back into his office and carefully picked up the bag containing all the small Ianto's clothes. "Okay, let's go. Gwen, we'll have the debrief in an hour. Order some food for us, Chinese would be good. Tosh, how's the Rift predictor looking?"

"Nothing coming our way tonight it seems."

"Good." He walked off following Ianto who had already started up the steps to the next level.

The washroom was just a large tiled space with three shower cubicles down one wall and basins along the other. Suzie and then Toshiko and Gwen had attempted to make it a little more welcoming by insisting on decent towels and non-carbolic soap, a couple of bench seats and space to store clothes but basically it was still just a functional space. Ianto made for the shower in the corner, it was the largest and the one he and Jack had shared on more than one occasion in the past.

"Clothes off, Ianto," said Jack with an inappropriate leer. He placed the bag of clothes on one of the benches.

"I can wash myself, thanks," said Ianto. He was bending down undoing his trainers and avoided looking at Jack.

"I'm not going to try anything," said the older man, coming up to stand by Ianto, leaning against the wall. "Just thought you might need a hand."

"Well, yours aren't much good." Ianto straightened up and stared at his boss. "What happened, Jack? Why did you leave me hanging in mid-air like that?" He was a strange sight, a seemingly four year old boy, barefoot in filthy and torn clothes with scratches on his legs and arms facing down a taller adult.

"The winch jammed. Then some of the cable slipped, I tried to stop it," he held out his hands, looking at them, "but I couldn't hold it. By the time we got it working again, you'd released yourself from the harness. I'm sorry. I loused up and put you in danger, I never meant to do that." He looked at Ianto steadily, seeing the man he knew and loved in the boy's eyes, a man who deserved an honest answer.

"It was bloody horrible, Jack."

"I know."

"Don't ever do that to me again."

"I won't. For what it's worth, you were great." Jack smiled, the one that expressed approval and pride.

Ianto snorted in disbelief and his head disappeared as he pulled the sweatshirt off followed by the shorts. Standing in his underpants, he looked at Jack and raised an eyebrow. "Well, are you going to turn the shower on or not?" It was too high for Ianto to reach.

"Of course."

Neither man needed to say any more, Jack had apologised and Ianto had accepted it. With the water running and at the correct temperature, Ianto slipped off his underpants and got into the cubicle. Jack handed him the soap and then shut the door. Ianto was right, he could manage on his own and offering to help would only irritate him. He stood and listened to the splashing for a moment then went to the clothes. The suit was on its hanger - as Ianto had insisted when he had taken it off – but Jack was more interested in the other garments that he had not inspected before. He liked the look of the long trousers and white shirt and removed the tags and labels in the hope of being able to persuade Ianto to wear them.

The pyjamas were at the bottom of the bag and Jack left them there. As he sat on the bench, listening to Ianto's treble singing a song he didn't know, Jack pondered where Ianto should spend the night, assuming he was not back to his normal size by then. He'd like it to be here, in the Hub, with him, but would Ianto want that? Maybe he'd prefer to go home with Toshiko, if she'd take him. The others were out of the question but it was possible Ianto would prefer a proper bed in a proper home. Thinking about it further, would it be fair to keep him here in the Hub when Jack may have to leave him on his own to answer an alert? The predictor program was not foolproof and there were always loose Weevils around. Perhaps it would be more appropriate for the boy to go home with Toshiko.

"Jack, can you turn the water off?"

Jack got up and did as he was asked. His hands were more flexible and he made a better job of turning it off than he had of turning it on but still got a wet arm for his trouble. He handed Ianto a large towel which went round the boy-sized body twice. He watched at Ianto dried himself, marvelling again at how well he had adapted to being in a different body. When it came to getting dressed, Jack prevailed and Ianto condescended to wear the trousers and shirt which looked as cute as the suit. Together, they went back up to the main level of Hub.

They ate supper in the work area while filling one another in on what had happened that afternoon. Jack stood leaning against his office wall, his plate of sweet and sour pork and rice held under his chin so he didn't lose any when his hands or his chopsticks didn't work. He could feel his fingers again but they were still a bit wayward. Gwen was on the sofa, legs curled underneath her and looking very comfortable. Ianto had been sitting beside her but he had found the food difficult to manage and after prompting from Toshiko was now sitting on Owen's chair alongside her at her desk. He was tucking into the chicken chow mein, hungry after the excitement and rigours of the afternoon. He had started out with chopsticks like the others but Toshiko had discretely passed him a spoon and fork which he could manage much better.

Owen, of course, did not join them. He was keeping himself busy in the medical bay, deliberately not looking at the others, that way he could ensure he did not have phantom smells and tastes to cope with. He was working on an antidote to the substance that John Hart had used to reduce Ianto to his current size. Owen grinned to himself. You had to hand it to John, he had found the perfect way to get back at Jack and humiliate Ianto. A noise from the rats he had injected earlier made him check them out and he saw that they had returned to their normal size. Eight hours since he had exposed them they were back to normal, or so it seemed. Taking one out of the cage, he checked it over visually and then with the Bekaran scanner and confirmed that it was healthy and the age it had been when injected. Good news, it meant whatever it was had no long term effects. He turned to tell the others but spotted Gwen still eating and decided to wait. He really didn't the reminder of his own zombie-like state.

"Any more, Ianto?" asked Toshiko, seeing he had almost cleared his plate.

"Please." Ianto held up his plate like a modern day Oliver and Toshiko spooned the last of the noodles and some chicken on top. He bent his head down and was soon spooning more into his mouth.

"Someone's hungry," commented Gwen, taking a bit more of the egg fried rice. "There's some sweet and sour left, Jack."

"No, thanks. That was good." Ianto swung his head in Jack's direction, chewing his current mouthful, and looked at him searchingly. "What?" demanded Jack.

The boy swallowed. "You don't usually leave anything."

"You don't usually eat like you haven't had a meal for a week." He poked his tongue out at Ianto and laughed when it was reciprocated in kind.

"Jack, you finished?" called Owen.

"Yeah. Got something?" He made for the steps down. "Soon as you've finished stuffing yourself, Billy Bunter, make some coffee."

"The substance – and no, I still don't know what it is - has worn off on the rats I exposed to it this morning, took roughly eight hours." He held up a rat. "No lasting effects."

"So it does wear off." Jack was relieved. "But it's been twelve hours for Ianto already." He looked back up towards the work area but couldn't see the boy from where he was.

"Body mass and physiology. I'm thinking that it takes longer depending on both of those," said Owen, putting the rat back in the cage with its mate.

"And you've done the calculation?"

"The rat's approximately a hundred times smaller than Ianto was when he was full size -"

"Eight hundred hours!" exclaimed Jack, louder than he had intended.

Owen looked at him with disgust. "If you'd let me finish," he paused for effect. "Thank you. The differences depends on other factors and I won't bore you with them, you probably wouldn't understand." He waved a hand airily, not looking at Jack, concentrating on his monitor. "According to my calculations, Ianto should be back to normal within the next twenty four hours."

"Let me see." Jack peered at the screen and checked over Owen's work. He looked at the formula of the substance once more too, in case it made any more sense now but it didn't. Finally, he had to admit that they had no option but to wait for the stuff to wear off. "So, by this time tomorrow?" Jack mused.

"I think I said that."

"Have you found something?" The small voice came from the top of the stairs. Ianto was looking through the railings, his head barely reaching the top rail and his hands gripping the lower one.

"Good news, Ianto," replied Jack, grinning and walking over to stand beneath him. "The stuff you took has worn off in the rats and will do the same to you. You'll be back to normal by this time tomorrow." He reached up and put a hand on the boy's leg.

If Jack had expected Ianto to be pleased he was disappointed. His face crumpled and he let out a deep sigh. "That long?"

"Fraid so, titch," Owen chuckled.

"Hey, it's not so bad," encouraged Jack, shooting a dirty look towards Owen. He wanted so much to pick Ianto up and cuddle him, to tell him that it would be okay. But he had promised not to do that in front of the others, and especially not in front of Owen. "Now, how about that coffee? I'm gasping."

"Yes, sorry."

Ianto walked off, his head down and his feet dragging along the floor. He had so hoped to be back to normal soon and now he had to wait a whole day longer, it was depressing. He walked past Gwen and Toshiko, scarcely seeing them, and over to the coffee machine. Climbing on the box, he started the familiar routine hoping it would calm him. He was joined by Toshiko who had been told what had happened by Jack.

"Reporting for waitress duty," she said lightly, making no attempt to help him actually make the beverages.

"Thanks," muttered Ianto without looking up.

They didn't speak any more, there was nothing Toshiko could say that would help. With the coffees made, Toshiko carried them across and delivered them to Gwen and Jack while Ianto took his glass of hot milk and sat on the sofa. The boy's low spirits affected the others and it wasn't long before Gwen made her excuses and set off for home. Jack disappeared to his office where Toshiko followed him.

"Jack, you need to talk to him," she said, standing looking out at the small figure hunched over his glass of milk.

Jack followed her gaze. "I know, but it's not easy when you're all around." She looked confused. "He needs a good cuddle but …" He let the words trail off and she understood.

"Then take him home. Owen and I can cover tonight." For the normally self-effacing woman, she was being very assertive. "Go and cheer him up."

He was shaking his head. "I don't know if that's such a good idea. We don't know how it will affect him when he changes back, maybe he should be here, near Owen."

"What Ianto needs is some TLC and you're the one he wants it from. Take him home and make sure he gets a good night's sleep, there's no bed for him here anyway."

Jack sat, thinking about what she had said; she was right but how to persuade Ianto? In the end he didn't need persuading, he was so down that he just nodded acceptance and started clearing up ready to go back to his flat. After giving instructions to Toshiko and Owen and checking he had everything, including Ianto's child sized clothes, Jack followed Ianto out of the Hub. Ianto remained quiet as Jack lifted him into the taxi – he'd left the SUV for the others – and during the short ride to the flat. When they were indoors Ianto sighed dramatically and stood in the middle of the living room head down, a small heap of misery.

"You are in need of one of Jack's special hugs. Works on everything from humans to Judoon to Yisilonae." Jack stood in front of Ianto waiting for a response.

"Not now." Ianto didn't raise his head as he turned for the bedroom. "I'd like to be alone please." He walked off with dignity and gently closed the door behind him leaving Jack standing looking after him.

In the bedroom, Ianto climbed onto the bed and lay down, burying his head in his arms and cried quietly. It had been a bit of an adventure to be small at first, working out how to manage and then there had been the events of the afternoon which while frightening at the time had at least had an element of fun. But now he was stuck, still in this little body and the novelty had worn off. He wanted to be normal again. He wanted to fuck and be fucked. It wasn't fair. And this wasn't even about him, he was a way for the odious John Hart to get back at Jack. Making Ianto into a child was just a means to an end, collateral damage, a way to humiliate him. He, Ianto, did not matter at all.

* * *

_Will Ianto recover his good spirits? _


	5. Chapter 5

_Will Jack be able to cheer up Ianto? _

* * *

**Little Big Man**

Chapter Five

Jack knelt beside the bed and put a hand on Ianto's back, not sure if he was awake or asleep. The sudden jerk told him the boy was awake but he kept his head buried and didn't move.

"I'm sorry, Ianto. I know this is my fault, nothing to do with you." Jack rubbed circles on the boy's back as he spoke. "If I could lay my hands on that … idiot John I would break his neck. But I can't. I'm sorry."

Jack removed his hand and sat on the floor, leaning against the bed. He felt awful for not protecting Ianto but there was little he could have done to prevent this. He put his head on his forearms which were resting on his knees. The two stayed like this for some time until Ianto twisted round and sat up, looking down on Jack's bent head. He loved this man and he was making him feel bad. Jack was right, there was nothing he could have done. After his bout of self-pity, Ianto had caught his second wind. Scrambling off the bed, he stood beside Jack and placed a hand on his shoulder. He marvelled how small it looked on that broad shoulder and stroked it up and down before moving it to tousle Jack's hair.

"Come on, let's find something to do." Ianto took Jack's hand and smiled when Jack looked at him. "And not that."

Jack took Ianto into his arms and held him close, giving him a much-needed hug. "What do you want to do?" he asked, his voice husky with emotion.

"This is nice."

"It sure is. But let's get somewhere more comfortable." Jack pushed himself up, Ianto in his arms, and walked into the living room. "Want to watch the TV?"

"No. Put some music on and turn out the light."

"You want to make out?" asked Jack, pretending to be shocked.

"Might be fun," giggled Ianto, "but I'll tell you now, you won't get very far"

Putting Ianto on the sofa, Jack put on a random CD which turned out to be a selection of classical favourites starting with the 1812 Overture, hardly romantic! Laughing, he left it to play, turned out the main light and put on a lamp before joining Ianto on the sofa. They cuddled together, Ianto almost but not quite sitting on Jack's lap and listened to the music. When Jack started conducting, Ianto got up and marched around the coffee table a few times before pretending to fire cannon and ring bells and all sorts. They were giggling uncontrollably when the piece ended and segued into The Planets Suite. Ianto closed his eyes and started swaying along with the music and Jack watched him, amused by the fun the boy was having: he could have been any child responding to the rhythm. When the CD ended Ianto was exhausted and sat down with Jack again.

"What time is?" he asked, climbing onto Jack's lap and snuggling close. He yawned suddenly.

"Not quite nine. Are you tired, little man?" he asked, resting his cheek on the top of Ianto's head.

"I told you not to call me that," replied Ianto but without rancour. His eyelids felt heavy and sitting in Jack's arms, breathing in his pheromones made him feel very safe.

"Sorry. Before you go to sleep on me, how about getting into your PJs?"

"I suppose." Neither of them moved. "Go on then," prompted Ianto, "go and get them."

"Yes, sir." He put Ianto onto the sofa and walked over to the bag, which he had dumped on the dining table, and rootled around before pulling out the pyjamas. Back at the sofa, Ianto had removed his shoes and socks and was busy taking off his shirt. "Can you manage?" asked Jack as he removed the tags from the pyjamas.

"Yes." Finally naked, Ianto held out his hand and took the pyjama bottoms, stepping into them and then slipped on the jacket, fastening all the buttons. He looked down at himself and sighed. "We couldn't find anything better than these," he said.

"I think they're great." He thought Ianto looked adorable in the dark red pyjamas with a pattern of small bears in diagonal stripes on them. "I'm going to get you some full sized ones like that."

"You are not!" Ianto frowned at him then began to fold the clothes he had just taken off. When he had finished he looked up at Jack who seemed impossibly tall and broad shouldered. He found it hard to believe that he was normally as tall as that.

"Bathroom then bed," said Jack.

"Yes, Dad," joked Ianto and walked off. After visiting the bathroom he found Jack in the bedroom. He had turned back the duvet and plumped up the pillows. "It's an awfully big bed for me all on my own," he said as he climbed in and lay on his back.

"Wouldn't be right for me to join you, however much I'd like to. Now, close your eyes, it's off to the land of nod for you." Jack leant over and kissed the boy's forehead.

"I'm not really four," said Ianto, yawning again, his eyes heavy, "you don't have to talk to me like that. Lie here," he patted the bed beside him, "until I'm asleep."

Jack looked at the cute little boy and did as he was asked. He lay on top of the duvet, fully clothed, and Ianto shuffled over to lie against him with a small, satisfied sigh. Within ten minutes, the boy was asleep, tired out by his adventures. Jack carefully got up and put the duvet straight over the little body. As he settled on the sofa, he thought back over the day and wondered when Ianto would return to normal. He hoped it would be soon, Ianto didn't deserve to be messed about like this. With that thought, Jack closed his eyes and slept.

The morning was dark and drizzly and the bedroom was gloomy when Ianto woke at six o'clock. He rolled over and remembrance came to him. For a moment he just lay there then slowly, he raised one arm – his faint hopes were dashed when he saw the small hand. He was still the size of a four year old. He allowed himself five minutes to silently curse John Hart and feel sorry for himself, then he threw back the duvet and scrambled out of the bed. There was no point in regretting what he couldn't change.

He padded through the flat in bare feet – Gwen had not bought him any slippers – and found Jack sat at the kitchen table with his PDA open before him. "Morning," said Ianto, scratching his ear so that his hair stuck up on end.

"Good morning." Jack smiled and pushed the PDA away from him. "You look so cute I have got to have a cuddle."

"Not now, Jack." Ianto walked past him to get to the cupboard with the cereals.

"Well, if I can't have a cuddle I'll have to … tickle you!"

Jack pounced on the boy, tickling his ribs from behind. Ianto shrieked in surprise and turned only to be caught and tickled some more. He was helpless with laughter as Jack continued his assault and they both ended up lying on the floor almost under the table.

"No more," gasped Ianto, pushing at Jack's arms, and was relieved when the assault ended. He lay recovering his breath looking up at the grinning Jack and grinned himself; that had been a good way to start the day. Not as good as a leisurely shag but good nonetheless.

"Up you come," said Jack, holding out a hand to pull up his diminutive colleague. "Breakfast?"

"Yes."

They ate cereal and toast and then Ianto washed and dressed, choosing the suit and the red shirt from the day before. He instructed Jack on which of his adult sized clothes to pack so that when he changed back to normal he would have something to wear and they left for the Hub. Jack drove Ianto's car, very aware of the proud and protective owner sitting next to him watching his every move: he had not driven so carefully for years. At the Hub, they found Owen at his desk alone. Toshiko had left around midnight and there had been no alerts to call her back.

"I've been going over the calculations," said Owen as the two walked up behind him. "Should be around midday when titch here gets back to normal."

"There you are, Ianto, not so long now," said Jack cheerily. He was aware that Ianto was still a bit down and was trying to be upbeat. "How about a coffee?"

"Okay." Ianto made sure his adult suit was hung up in Jack's office and then went off to the machine. He hummed quietly as he made the drink, maybe he would be able to do all these things properly soon. He gave Jack his coffee and then pottered round the work area getting it tidy.

"Hey, sweetheart," said Gwen when she breezed in at just before nine. "Traffic's awful out there. How are you?"

"Fine. Coffee?"

"Please, I need it after that drive." She smiled and went off to her desk calling a brisk good morning to Owen and Jack as she passed them. When the coffee was ready she took it into Jack's office and updated him on a project she was working on and Owen disappeared into the medical bay. With Toshiko coming in late, Ianto looked around and decided to go down to the archives.

The tunnels and rooms seemed much larger as Ianto walked along. He mused, as he clambered onto a chair, how matter of fact his colleagues had been today. No snide comments from Owen or cloying protectiveness from Gwen. It had only been twenty four hours but already they were used to him being a boy. He was not sure whether to be grateful or disturbed. Were they really so used to the unusual that they could overlook his small stature so quickly? Wishing he could do the same, he pulled the papers for sorting towards him and got stuck in. No one bothered him and he managed to get through quite a lot. He did not have a watch – his own was far too big to wear – and he was surprised to see from the PC display that it was eleven forty; the morning had flown by and he had missed preparing the mid-morning drinks.

He frowned. No matter what had happened to him the others should have been demanding coffee half an hour ago. Raising a hand to his ear he remembered that he had lost his comms earpiece in the sewers the day before. Perhaps they had been called out on an alert and forgotten to tell him. He quickly checked the daily log but there was nothing so clicked on the CCTV feed from the work area.

His blood ran cold at the picture on his screen.

-ooOoo-

The apparition had taken them all by surprise. It had manifested itself at the base of the water tower and sensed the air before gliding towards Gwen who was sitting at her desk, momentarily rooted to the spot. Jack sprang from his office, Webley in hand and yelling for Owen. Jack fell not two paces later when the apparition created a limb and emitted a blast of some description. Jolted from her paralysis, Gwen scrabbled in her bag for her Glock, ducking behind the desk for cover. She saw Owen emerge from the medical bay, curious but not alarmed - until he saw the apparition. He rushed forward, vaulting Jack, and launched himself at the being only to continue his onward trajectory through it. He hit the ground hard and rolled, ending up in a heap against the railings, stunned.

Gwen rose from behind her desk and fired off several rounds but they too went straight through the mainly gaseous being. All her action achieved was to draw attention to herself again and the being floated towards her. She backed off, edging towards the armoury and the more powerful weapons there, but a blast from the being stopped her and she fell to the floor not far from Owen. It was at this point that Toshiko walked in, looking forward to what she hoped would be a relatively uneventful day. She was halfway up the steps to her desk before she noticed the being and she too froze for a second, amazed and disbelieving. Those few seconds were all the creature needed and she too met the floor with a thud.

Owen, being dead, did not remain stunned for long but it was long enough for him to have been trussed up and dumped on the sofa. He watched the being as it did the same for the still unconscious Jack, Gwen and Toshiko, the latter ending up lain across the others' knees as there was barely room for three to sit on the sofa, especially with their arms tied behind them at wrist and just above the elbow.

"What are you? What do you want?" demanded Owen. He tested his bonds but didn't struggle too hard; any damage he caused himself would not heal. He studied the … thing. It was around five feet tall, if a gaseous entity could be said to have height. It billowed up and down and from side to side but kept roughly to that height and was about three feet wide. Limbs appeared from any part of its 'body' at need and it slid along the ground. He thought it was taking on a more solid form but it was a very gradual process and it was still more that three quarters gas. Owen had seen nothing like it before and had no idea what it wanted. He was just grateful that it had disabled rather than killed his colleagues.

"Tor'ud." The sound was deep and reverberated round the base.

"What!?" The doctor had no idea what the being was saying. He struggled to sit more upright, scarcely able to move for the weight of Gwen, and beyond her Jack, leaning against him, as well as Toshiko.

The sound was not repeated. In the silence, Owen heard Jack's breathing change rhythm and realised the man was conscious but he did not move, playing dead until he could suss out the situation. Continuing the negotiating role, Owen tried again to make contact. "Tell me what you want, maybe I can help."

"Tor'ud," came again.

"That makes no sense!" he retorted, wondering how a column of gas could make sounds. "Who are you?"

"Mmmly. Wan Mmmly."

"Huh?" Owen was totally lost. He had never been very good at talking to aliens – he preferred cutting them up - and he couldn't think why Jack was leaving the talking to him. "What do you want, Ummly?" he got out eventually, assuming this was the being's name.

"MMMLY!"

The sound crashed round the Hub like a thunderclap and Gwen jerked upright. She had been coming round but this completed the job with a bang. Finding herself tied up and jammed between Jack and Owen on the sofa with Toshiko lying across them did not bode well, and the creature that had bellowed did not look like something to mess with. Beside her, Jack decided he would learn nothing from pretending unconsciousness any longer – and that letting Owen handle negotiations was not a good move anyway. He opened his eyes and straightened up as much as he could. Toshiko, happily still unaware, rolled dangerously as he and Gwen strained at their bonds.

-ooOoo-

In the archives, Ianto stared at the screen. His colleagues were bound and contained on the sofa with a creature threatening them. He quickly went back over the CCTV for the previous half an hour and watched the fast-forwarded images to see what had happened. At the same time, he used the internal scanners to analyse the creature and queried the database. It was hard to manage all three activities on a PC used only for archive access – the screen was tiny in comparison with those upstairs – but he split the screen and squinted to check on all three windows as his brain raced, taking in what was happening above him.

The creature had appeared out of nowhere and despite its ghostly form had enough substance to emit a blast that that knocked the others unconscious and to tie up and heft their bodies afterwards. The scans showed that it was now eleven per cent solid, increasing by one per cent every three point four minutes. It was made of nitrogen, methane, tetrachloride and some others of which Ianto had never heard. The database search pinged and Ianto brought the window up to full size and read through the entry. Torchwood had met this creature before, a long time ago. And they'd dealt with it. The computerised record was scant but it gave a reference for the paper file and Ianto was off his chair and at the drawer – luckily one of the lower ones – in a trice. He knelt on the floor reading it avidly.

-ooOoo-

"I'm Captain Jack Harkness, talk to me."

Jack was working at his bindings even as he addressed the being floating backwards and forwards in front of them as if pacing. Unfortunately, the being had used wire ripped from Owen's computer to secure them and it had little give, just dug into his wrists and upper arms more tightly as he struggled. Their ankles were tied in the same way and he was starting to lose feeling in his feet from loss of circulation.

"Mmmly!" This was more of a wail than before, a yearning that was easily detectable.

Toshiko stirred and panicked when she could not move, struggling against her bonds and twisting around. She was lying on her left side facing towards the room and had no idea what she was lying on, just that it was lumpy. The sight of the creature stilled her at the same time that Gwen and Owen hissed in unison, "Keep still!"

"What? What's going on?" she queried, twisting her head to look up and behind her. She found her head was resting on Jack's knee, her upper body on Gwen and her bum on Owen with her legs hanging over the arm of the sofa.

"No idea," replied Owen, sparing a glance for her before returning his gaze to the being. "But if you keep wriggling around you'll fall."

Jack gave up trying to communicate with the alien. "Suggestions?" he asked quietly, still working on the bindings, feeling the blood trickle down his hands. "Gwen, did you see it appear?"

"Not really. Just looked up and there it was." She had given up trying to get free; wedged as she was between the two men she could hardly move.

"Where? Where was it?" asked Toshiko. She was lying still now, looking up at the being.

"By the water tower."

"Why didn't the alarms go off?" demanded Owen. He was fighting the instinct to struggle against his bindings, picturing himself as an Egyptian mummy if he did.

"They didn't?" queried Toshiko, "That's odd."

"It's more than bleeding odd, Tosh. You're supposed to have set them up to go off for anything!"

"Shut up, Owen," snapped Gwen who had felt Toshiko's stiffen at the accusation. "It's not helping. What we need is to get free and to overpower that thing."

"And how are we supposed to do that when we're trussed up like turkeys on Christmas Day!?"

"We may have help," said Jack slowly.

He was looking across at Toshiko's desk and in particular the middle of the lower screens where a message was appearing letter by letter. The others followed his gaze and also saw the words – red on a black background – and were quiet until the message was complete. 'KEEP IT OCCUPIED. NEED TEN MINUTES. I.'

"Ianto," breathed Toshiko, a smile in her voice.

"But what can he do? He's a kid!" protested Owen.

"He saved your butt yesterday," retorted Jack, turning his attention back to the being. He intended to buy Ianto the time he needed.

-ooOoo-

In the archives Ianto was busy typing and cursing the slowness of the PC; he made a mental note to insist that it was upgraded as soon as this crisis was over. His plan was relatively simple, he just had to adapt the methods used by Torchwood in the past before the being reached fifty per cent solidity. After that, it would be virtually unstoppable. At most he had thirty minutes but that would be cutting it way too fine; he was determined to contain the being well before then. The final adjustment was made to the CCTV cameras which he had tied into the database modelling program.

Downloading the control into a memory stick, he ran from the archives along little used tunnels to a grating. He had found this place when playing hide and seek with Jack and smiled at the memory. He removed the metal grating, which was heavy and awkward for his small self, and looked inside; it was as he remembered it. Sighing, he removed his suit and tie, no need to get them dirty, and put the memory stick in his underpants for safety before ducking into the opening.

-ooOoo-

"Any luck with the bindings, Jack?" asked Owen, aware his boss was still struggling with them. Seven minutes had passed since the message had appeared on the screen and then faded away and Owen was starting to wonder if he had imagined it.

"They're getting a bit looser," Jack grunted. "That or they're just getting slippery from the blood."

"That thing doesn't seem to care what we do. Or mind what we say," observed Gwen. The being was still pacing and had taken to moaning.

"I have an idea," put in Toshiko. "My mouth is free. If I could get down from here, I should be able to use my teeth on the bindings."

"Too risky," said Owen immediately. She had been a tower of strength since he had died and he did not want anything to happen to her.

"Worth a try," countered Jack. "Tosh, try moving around a bit more, let's see what reaction we get." She squirmed around so that she was lying on her back, flexing her knees and raising her legs in the air a couple of times and very pleased she was wearing trousers. "Look at that, not a peep. Tosh, do you think you could roll gently off our knees. Gwen, Owen, get ready to stop her by raising your legs and feet."

When the being was furthest away from them, Toshiko manoeuvred herself and rolled off, her momentum slowed but not stopped by her colleagues. She lay winded for a moment then painfully pulled herself onto her front and then onto her knees, using Jack's legs as a lever. Edging carefully round the end of the sofa, she knelt and started tugging at the wires that bound him, tasting his blood.

"Tosh, how are you doing?" asked Gwen.

"These are tight," she replied. "It'll take a while." She went back to her work.

"Where the hell is Ianto?" murmured Owen, putting into words what they all were thinking.

* * *

_Will Ianto be able to rescue them? What is this alien? _


	6. Chapter 6

_Will Ianto be able to rescue his team mates?_

* * *

**Little Big Man**

Chapter Six

The tunnel was one of the larger ones in the base and Ianto was pleased to be his reduced size as he could walk rather than crawl, only having to duck slightly. He was grateful for that memorable game of hide and seek – he felt hot just thinking about it – when he had found it. In an idle moment the following day, he had accessed the schematics of the Hub and traced the opening, wondering where it led. It was an old air duct - one of the few parts of the original Victorian base unaffected by the 1906 earthquake - and he had been amazed to see where it had led, doing a physical check to make sure. Little did he imagine then that one day he would be walking through it to rescue his team mates.

The tunnel narrowed suddenly and he was obliged to get on his hands and knees and crawl forward for three metres. Another couple of metres and he had arrived. The grating in front of him was large and unwieldy but when he had been here before he had opened it so it was sufficiently loose for him to push it out, falling into the room on the other side. He slid through and stood up, brushing down his bare knees. He felt a bit of a prat standing in his underpants and a loose shirt but that was better than ruining the hired suit. He smiled as he walked through the room; not far to go now, provided he had enough strength in his four year old arms to open the hatch.

-ooOoo-

Toshiko was continuing to pull at the wire that bound Jack's hands. His blood was smeared over her lips and lower face and tasted of iron and … something she did not recognise. It was certainly different to her own blood which she had tasted when sucking a cut finger. His unique healing qualities, she decided, using her tongue to help ease the wire loose. The hands jerked and she was left grabbing at fresh air.

"Sorry," muttered Jack, "that tickled." He brought his hands back round before her, twisting awkwardly again, shoved hard against the wooden arm of the sofa and pressed against Gwen.

"Keep still." Toshiko went back to work.

The being was standing stationary between the two desks, sniffing. Owen watched intently, wondering what that meant and hoping that it was not Ianto that it smelt. The being's body was becoming more solid, areas were now opaque that had not been before. He was so intent on the creature that he was taken by surprise when the door to Jack's office opened fully – it had been just ajar before – and a woman appeared.

"Shit!" he said. The others turned to follow his gaze and Jack stifled a gasp of recognition.

"Who is it? Do you know her, Jack?" demanded Gwen.

"Yeah. That's Emily Holroyd." He could not fail to recognise the short rather squat figure not made any slimmer by the tweed plus-four suit she always wore. Had always worn, he amended; Emily had be dead for over ninety years. Her fair hair was tied up in the bun he remembered so well and she was looking at the being in front of them with a kindly smile, an expression Jack had rarely seen.

"Who's she?" asked Owen, straining forward to look round Gwen.

"Head of Torchwood Three."

"I thought you were," said Gwen.

"I am. She died in 1912." Gwen made to say something more but Jack hushed her. "Shhh," he hissed.

"Herbert," said Emily in a calm voice, taking a step towards the being to stand just outside the office, "how lovely to see you again."

"Mmmly," came from the being. It seemed to pulsate towards her. "Mmmly!"

"That's right, Herbert, it's Emily. You really shouldn't have come back, Herbert. I thought we agreed that you would stay away." Her face took on a forlorn expression, like a mother disappointed in a child.

"Wan Mmmly." The being slid forward a little more.

"What's going on, Jack?" asked Toshiko. She was still on her knees beside him at the end of the sofa but she had pressed herself closer to the wall, feeling exposed as the being moved past her.

"I don't know. Emily's dead, went down with the _Titanic_. And anyway, she never spoke with a Welsh accent."

"Ianto?" queried Gwen from beside him, hope rising.

"I think so. Be quiet, let's watch and no one move 'cos I have no idea how he's doing this."

Toshiko looked around into the far reaches of the Hub. "The CCTV. He's using the CCTV cameras," she said softly, seeing they had been adjusted to align on the spot where Emily, or a facsimile of her, was standing. "Oh well done, Ianto," she murmured.

"Come here, Herbert, come and be with Emily." The woman opened her arms and smiled more broadly, inviting the being to come forward.

Jack and the others watched, fascinated, as the being slowly slid forward and reached the woman, slipping into an embrace … that did not happen. The being went through the holographic image and bellowed in rage and frustration, making the team duck and try to close their ears or bury their heads against one other or the back of the sofa, anything to deaden the noise. Lost in the maelstrom of sound, the plasma blast went unheard but it caught the being full in the chest and its ionised particles mixed with those of the being causing it to shake and shudder and writhe. It was still occupying the same space as the holographic Emily which was locked into position with arms outstretched and the watchers could not clearly see what was happening. But after three minutes of continuous plasma bombardment, the being slowly disintegrated and faded away leaving Emily standing there alone, unmoving.

"Ianto!" called Jack, looking to the office where the blast had originated. "Ianto, are you okay?" He struggled even more desperately against the wire that bound him and could feel some give there but not enough for him to get loose. "Ianto!!" he yelled.

In the office, Ianto could hear his boss but could not answer. At eleven fifty eight precisely, moments after the creature had disintegrated, Ianto's body had started the transformation back into its normal adult size and he was lying on the floor, writhing and gasping as sensations rippled through him. All he could think about was how lucky it was that the process had not started a few minutes earlier or his plan to eliminate Herbert would have been ruined.

"Ianto!" yelled Jack even more desperately. He had been yelling for two or three minutes but it felt like hours. He was yanking at the wire bindings oblivious of the pain and the blood that was dripping from the wounds. "Ianto!"

"I'm all right," came a weary voice from the office.

Everyone in the work area heaved a sigh of relief and Jack relaxed his efforts as he caught his breath, a grin on his face and his eyes closed. He was even more reassured when, a moment or two later, he heard scrabbling noises of someone standing up. The hologram of Emily Holroyd, still standing where Ianto had placed it with arms outstretched and the false grin on its face, so unlike the woman Jack had known, was starting to get on his nerves as well as blocking his view into the office. He couldn't think what was keeping the Welshman.

"Ianto, what are you doing in there?"

"Getting dressed."

Jack frowned then grinned delightedly, realising what that meant. "You're back to normal?" he asked hopefully.

"Yeah." The man himself appeared in the doorway, barefoot with a part-fastened shirt hanging outside his suit trousers.

"Ianto, it's lovely to see you," grinned Gwen.

"Absolutely," agreed Toshiko, smiling up from her place on the floor. She looked as if she was a vampire with the blood caked around her mouth and on her chin.

"Yeah, yeah, very nice and all that. Just get cracking and get us loose." Owen was not one for sentimental outpourings.

In the next few minutes, Ianto helped Toshiko to her feet and sat her on a chair before going down into the medical bay and getting a sharp knife used for cutting muscle and tendon. He used this to free Toshiko then moved on to Gwen, Jack and Owen, drawing in a hiss of breath when he saw the state of Jack's wrists. With his colleagues released, he went back to the office PC to turn off the holographic display he had used to create Emily and she disappeared, much to Jack's relief. The others were standing, banging circulation back into their feet and stretching.

"Okay, Owen see to Gwen and Tosh's wrists and then give Ianto a once over to make sure he's okay," said Jack, standing stretching his abused back muscles. His wrists hurt but they would be healed within the next half an hour or so. "Then we'll work out what the hell happened here."

"Over lunch," interjected Gwen. "I'm starving."

"Good idea. Ianto, can you order something?" Jack turned to see Ianto standing in the office doorway again. He looked wonderful, quite good enough to eat, especially with his hairy chest peeping through the open shirt front.

"Pizzas?" he asked.

"Sounds good. And so do you, it's good to hear those deep Welsh vowels again." He grinned and stepped forward, wrapping his arms round the other man.

"That's harassment, sir," said Ianto automatically, standing stiffly in Jack's arms. The others were smirking as they filed down into the medical bay. Only when they were out of sight did Ianto relax and rest his head on his boss's shoulder. They stayed like that for a couple of minutes before Ianto realised Jack's hands were on his back. "Jack, are you getting blood on my clean, white shirt?" he asked, pulling away.

"Uh … no …well, not intentionally."

"You have," Ianto complained, twisting the shirt round to see. "I'm going to get a clean shirt and finish getting dressed." He shifted uncomfortably, not liking to be without underpants. "You order the lunch." With that he turned on his heel, took the suit bag from the office and walked off to the bathroom where his spare clothes were kept.

-ooOoo-

They gathered in the Boardroom for lunch just under an hour later. Owen had tended to their wounds and given Ianto a quick scan. The samples he had taken were being analysed but he was confident that all was now well with the Welshman. His reversion to his true age had followed exactly the same route as the rats and they were fine. With mugs of coffee and the pizzas they settled comfortably around the table, only Owen looking ill at ease. He was trying not to look at the others eating and drinking.

"Right," said Jack around a mouthful of pizza, "time to sort out what happened. Owen, first things first, is Ianto okay?"

"I'm running a few tests to be sure but, yeah, he's normal again. Well," he paused, "normal as he ever is." He grinned maliciously. "And no one else was hurt, just a few minor abrasions from being tied up." He glanced over at Jack who had no evidence of the deep wounds on his wrists and marvelled anew at the man's healing qualities.

"Good. So, we know this thing appeared out of nowhere at," he glanced at his notes, "eleven twelve. It knocked us all out - "

"No, Owen knocked himself out," grinned Gwen, remembering the doctor sailing into the railing.

"Ha bloody ha," sneered Owen, shifting in his chair to avoid seeing Jack stuff another slice of pizza in his mouth. "How was I to know it was a ghost?"

"It wasn't a ghost, it was an Izmof," put in Ianto, nibbling at some pizza. He was now fully and correctly dressed in his suit and tie and enjoying being his proper size again.

Jack ignored them and continued. "Knocked us out and tied us up. So, Ianto, saviour of the day," he smirked, "I think you'd better fill us in on the rest." He took a swig of his coffee and looked across at the Welshman, feasting his eyes on the neat figure but with a pang of regret for the loss of the small boy he had been.

Ianto took a sip of coffee and cleared his throat. "I didn't know what had happened to you. It was only when I wondered why you hadn't demanded coffee that I checked the internal scanners and saw you all trussed up on the sofa." A small smile played about his lips, it had been quite amusing to see them humbled in that way. "An analysis of the creature identified it as an Izmof, specifically one that had been captured by Torchwood a hundred years ago."

Toshiko was tapping at the keyboard in front of her. "This is its profile," she said, bringing up the details on the plasma screen. "It's amazing. It starts out as a gas – methane and nitrogen mainly – but by drawing on the carbon dioxide in our atmosphere it can become a solid. Takes about four hours and once it's reached the half way point it's permanent."

Jack was leaning forward to look at the screen. "I've never heard of it."

"But I thought you were here a hundred years ago," put in Gwen, frowning slightly.

"I was."

"Not in 1908," said Ianto. "You were in India."

"Oh yes," said Jack, remembering serving in the Indian Army during a period of unrest. He had gone there to get away from Torchwood, returning a couple of years later.

"What were you doing there?" asked Gwen, always willing to listen to Jack's stories though never quite sure whether to believe them.

"I was in the Army, keeping down a lot of revolting natives." He opened his mouth to say more but decided against it, they needed to stay focussed. "But that's beside the point. Ianto, the Izmof."

"From the case file I learnt it had appeared, ghost like, in the Hub exactly one hundred years ago. Speculation after the event was that it had been drawn to the Rift Manipulator but no one was ever sure."

"It appeared right by it today," said Gwen, remembering its sudden materialisation.

"Emily Holroyd, then leader of Torchwood Three, and Charles Gaskell, an operative, were on the ball. Even with the limited amount of equipment available to them back then, they saw the danger if it was allowed to become solid – Izmofs can absorb and utilise any technology they come across and the Hub was stuffed with it – and devised a containment field that deprived it of the carbon dioxide." He paused to sip his coffee, his first for thirty six hours, and take another slice of pizza. "Emily appears to have been a bit of a sadist. She kept the Izmof contained for weeks, experimenting on it more often than not."

"Sounds like Emily," said Jack disgustedly, remembering the torture he had undergone in the cells. He chewed on his last slice of pizza.

"Despite the treatment it got, the Izmof formed an attachment to Emily and eventually broke free of the field and ran amok in the Hub trying to find her. They finally overpowered it by flooding the base with cooled acetylene which, according to the report, 'transmogrified' it."

"So how did it come back?" asked Gwen.

"Because they only dispersed the gases that formed it," explained Toshiko, "not destroyed them."

"Right," agreed Ianto. "There's an addition to the file from someone called Marie in 1942. She saw what she thought was a ghost near where the water tower is now. She and a colleague, Brian, analysed it and decided it was an Izmof, or a shadow of one. They predicted that it would continue to coalesce and eventually reform into the original creature. It just did."

"Can't imagine anything being so enamoured of Emily it would hang around that long," commented Jack, finishing his coffee. "So you decided to create a holographic Emily to lure it to the office?" he asked Ianto.

"It was attracted to her and her image was in the database. Seemed appropriate."

"Why the office? And how did you get there?" Jack sat back in his chair, pleased with Ianto's logical approach to dealing with the being. He was a great asset to this team.

"After sending the message to Tosh's PC … You did get that?"

"We did."

"Well, after that I used one of the old tunnels, an air duct actually, which links up with your quarters. I was able to get up into the office and use the PC in there to project the hologram. I also knew that there was a plasma gun in the secure archives that I could use to kill the Izmof." He looked at Jack, "Sorry I had to do that. Couldn't think of a way to contain it."

"Amazing, Ianto, just amazing. And all this when you were knee high to a grasshopper." He was grinning proudly. The one time receptionist and general support had developed into something so much more.

Gwen and Toshiko echoed Jack's praises and Ianto felt embarrassed. He had done what he could to save his friends, just as they would do for him. It was also rather patronising of them to be quite so surprised when he showed he had a brain and could use it. He admitted to himself, however, that that was probably his own fault as he rarely put himself forward.

"That woman, Emily, called the Izmof 'Herbert'," said Owen when he considered Ianto had been praised for long enough. "Why?"

"That's the name she gave it, after the Prime Minister of the time, Herbert Asquith." Ianto decided he had eaten enough and pushed his pizza box away from him. "Anything else, Jack? I have a day and half's work to catch up."

"Hey, there's no need to do that. Take time to enjoy being your correct size again," protested Jack, laughing.

"I'll enjoy it best by sorting out the mess around here. But," he hesitated, "but thanks, all of you, for looking after me while I was … indisposed."

"It was a pleasure," beamed Gwen. "You were so cute as a little boy." Ianto cringed.

"That is so right," agreed Jack, recognising Ianto's embarrassment and not caring in the least. It was just more proof that he was back to normal. "Cute as a button."

"I don't think we looked after you, Ianto, you still looked after us." Toshiko smiled at her colleague and Ianto smiled back, relieved someone could talk sense. He rose to his feet and started to collect the pizza boxes and mugs.

"God, this is sickening," was the only comment from Owen who shoved back his chair and scurried away quickly, back to the medical bay to check on the tests he had running. Gwen and Jack wandered off, discussing the time he was India. Only Toshiko stayed to help tidy up.

"Are you really okay, Ianto? It must have been weird for you to be four years old again."

"I'm fine, thanks." He paused in what he was doing and smiled at her. "And thanks for your support. It meant to lot to me."

"Any time," she replied, smiling back, "though I hope it never happens again."

"Me too." They carried the rubbish and mugs between them and left the Boardroom heading for the work area. "But maybe it wasn't all bad," he said, smiling at the memory of sitting on Jack's knee and the feeling of security it had given him.

"I'm glad. Because you really were a cute little boy." She skipped sideways to avoid his playful nudge and the pair were laughing when they finally got to the kitchen.

For the rest of the afternoon, Ianto was true to his word and went over all the jobs that had been neglected in his time as a child. Even those supposedly completed by the other members of the team were revisited and re-done to Ianto's satisfaction. He put aside the small hired suit which he would return to the shop the following day and placed the other children's clothes in the store cupboard. All the time he was working, he went over all that happened to him in the previous thirty six hours in an effort to come to terms with it. He still resented being the butt of John Hart's prank and while he was thankful that the man had not done anything worse the humiliation still rankled.

This was still in his mind when he went round with the late afternoon coffees. "Jack," he began, putting the coffee down on his boss's desk, "can I ask you something?"

"'Cos you can. What's up?" Jack leant back in his chair and smiled up at the Welshman.

"Your wrist strap thingy. Can it send a message to John Hart like he sent to you?" Ianto stood in front of the desk, his hands in his trouser pockets.

"In theory." Jack waited to see why Ianto wanted to know that little fact. Did he want to send a rude message to John? Some lengthy harangue about not picking on him again? Jack hoped not, it would be unlike the cool and contained man he had come to know very well.

"One of those little holograms?" Ianto persisted.

"Yes." Ianto smiled, a wicked little smile that indicated to Jack that the Welshman had thought of something particularly dastardly. "What have you got in mind?"

"Tonight, when you've sent everyone home, I intend to show you how much I appreciate you." Ianto continued to smile wickedly.

"And?" Jack was leaning forward on his desk, eyes fixed on Ianto. He liked the idea of being appreciated and was already wondering how quickly he could get rid of the others. Gwen would go as soon as he gave the word but Toshiko and Owen tended to linger. Perhaps if he had a word with Toshiko, told her he needed some private time with Ianto, she would get Owen to leave.

"I want to send edited highlights of the CCTV footage to John bloody Hart."

Laughter exploding from Jack's office when Ianto was with him was nothing new but this had a special quality that made the rest of the team look over. They saw the two men fall into one another's arms and kiss passionately. Gwen started closing down her PC and packing her bag ready for the instruction to go home. Toshiko sighed, set the program she was working on to continue automatically and resigned herself to leaving early. Owen pulled a face and grabbed his jacket, determined not to stay around to watch his boss and the teaboy get some when he couldn't any more.

Thirty minutes later, all three had been given their marching orders and had left the Hub leaving Jack and Ianto to put the latter's plan for revenge into action.

* * *

_And that's the end. Thanks to all of you for your supportive comments and reviews. And special thanks to Rachel Gonzales for the original idea. Jay :D_


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